Seven Weeks
by ScarletRaven1001
Summary: Nominated for the Inuyasha Fanguild Fanfic Awards! While on a journey to rescue the abducted princess of a foreign land, Inuyasha meets Kagome, a powerful sorceress who may make a powerful ally. There is just one problem: he thinks she is hiding something
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 1. Please read and review. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and co.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

1. Marks and Prophecies

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Tears streamed down the princess' cheeks as she clutched fiercely at the small round orb that hung around her neck. She clenched her eyes shut once more as she thought of her kingdom, which due to her absence had fallen into almost unspeakable chaos. The large mystic dome that kept her prisoner and prevented her from using her powers of creation now withheld her prayers that kept the land alive. The cursed dome would not allow the power of the holy Shikon, and the one who bears it, to pass through its walls.

She briefly opened her blue/gray eyes to stare at the milky orb in her hand. The mark of a golden star on her chest, which destined her as the princess of her land since her birth, glowed with the orb that held the power that now caused this chaos. She wanted to escape, and she could think of no other way.

Summoning her power, she surged ahead with the most powerful prayer she had ever uttered yet. She needed help, but not just from anyone. She needed the power of the warrior stated in the Holy Prophecy. He who bears the same mark as she, and since not from her world, he would not be affected by the curse cast upon them all by the devil who had abducted her.

The power was building, building. After this, she may temporarily lose her powers, and, without the force being repelled by the dome in her body, she may get out of her prison. The power would be left in the orb, inside the cursed dome, but she was the only one who could use the Shikon. It could not be used against her even if she left it in the hands of her captor.

At least she would be free... and her warrior would help her reclaim her power.

Her dark hair flared as the power left her body to go into the orb in her hand. She opened her mouth in a scream as her prayers reached the legendary knight, a scream that was the name of the warrior as stated in the Holy Prophecy...

"INUYASHA!"

oooooooooo

The silver haired hanyou bolted upright in his bed, the shrill scream still ringing in his ears. The star-shaped birthmark on his chest was burning dreadfully, and his breathing was ragged.

'Yume wa... a dream. It was a dream', He told himself, but deep down he knew that there was something else. He sat up in his bed, thinking about it. The dream was so real.

The dark-haired lady in his dream looked to be in such pain. Her blue/gray eyes were all he could see of her face, but the fact that they were brimming with tears made him want to abandon his gruffness to reach out and brush the tears away. The dream was also strange - he had never had a dream like that before. And her voice...

When she called out his name, he could feel the overwhelming pain in her voice. He wanted to help her in any way, but why he felt like that towards a stupid dream, he couldn't figure out.

'Keh. I must be so over-worked, I'm hallucinating. Shit,' But try as he might, he just couldn't figure out how his brain could have produced such a vivid dream.

'INUYASHA...'

He sat up straight and looked around in his room. Gods, he could have sworn he heard her voice in his head again. Her voice... so pained... She was calling to him, pleading with him.

"Dammit! Snap out of it Inuyasha! It was a fucking dream. A pigment of your under-used imagination," he said aloud to himself, his golden flashing in annoyance. "You just need to lighten up and kick some ass to get your useless mind off things."

"Inuyasha? Is that you dear? Are you up already?" his mother's voice from right outside his door interrupted his musings.

"Yeah mom. I'm up," he answered, getting up and heading for his bedroom's closed door.

"Good. Your friend Takeshi is here to see you."

"Huh?! Takeshi? This early?" he poked his head out his door, surprised.

"Yes. He said the two of you had something planned for today," she replied.

"Oh," he was stumped. What plan? Then he thought of something.

"Oh, THAT plan. I remember," he said. He still didn't know what his friend was talking about, but it was just the distraction he needed to forget the weird dream.

"Get dressed and go downstairs then. I'll tell him that you're coming. And dress properly. Don't forget to summon your human disguise."

"Hai, okaasan. Arigatou," he answered, preparing to hide his hanyou attributes.

Inuyasha conjured up the familiar spell that would make him look like a human. He snorted as his silver white hair started to turn black and his triangular ears shrunk back into his head. His claws and fangs retracted, leaving a very good looking human teenager.

'Stupid humans,' he thought. 'Why can't they just accept youkai anyway?!'

Five minutes later, a tall muscular boy with long midnight dark hair and deep blue eyes was running down the stairs. Facing his friend, he asked, "So, where are we going?"

"To the café, amnesia-boy. Free coffee today, from five to seven a.m.!" Takeshi replied.

"Oh. Well, let's go! Ja ne, okaa!" and they were out the door in a flash, faintly hearing his mother telling him not to get into another fight on such a beautiful, ordinary day.

Ordinary day, huh? How wrong could that be?

oooooooooo

Inuyasha was halfway through his third cup of coffee when Takeshi let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Yeah, coffee's good today," he said, agreeing to what he thought his friend was thinking.

"Forget the coffee, dammit. Look over there," Takeshi replied, motioning to the door.

Inuyasha turned and found himself looking at a tall, shapely girl with long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail. She was, indeed, very pretty, but for some reason, she reminded him of his dream. Her eyes were very different from his dream girl's lovely orbs, but much to his annoyance, she reminded him of the woman.

'Dammit,' he thought. 'It was a dream, Inuyasha, a dream! Forget the stupid thing!'

The girl turned and their eyes met briefly. He winced as he saw something he never thought he'd see in her eyes right then: shock. It disturbed him greatly, so he turned away and back to his companion.

"From the looks of it she's interested in you. Again. Damn, Inuyasha, they're all into you! Leave some for me will you?!" Takeshi teased as he looked back at him.

"What the fuck are you talking about kouzo?"

"Man, did you see how she was staring at you? She looked like she swallowed a bug!"

"Urusai," he shot back, but he turned to look at the girl anyway. As he did, a purple-eyed man with dark hair tied back in a very short ponytail and sporting a kind of rosary around his hand came in. The girl turned and whispered something to him, then, the newcomer turned to look in Inuyasha's direction. The hanyou turned away right before their eyes met.

"No man, I don't think so," he informed Takeshi. He was kinda jumping to conclusions, but the man looked nothing like the girl, so they couldn't be brother and sister...

Inuyasha feigned disinterest as they approached to sit in the booth right next to his table. He looked up and caught them looking at him again.

Inuyasha just raised a brow at them. Then the other guy started.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I know you caught us staring. We hope you're not maddened by it. It's just that, well, you kinda look... familiar..." he said.

Inuyasha just grunted. 'This guy's fibbing,' he thought in annoyance. 'What the hell is their problem?'

"The name's Miroku, by the way," he said affably. "And this lovely young lady with me is Sango. May we be graced to know your names? Sango and I are just visiting and we know nobody," he offered, looking at both Inuyasha and Takeshi.

Takeshi knew his friend well enough to know that he was gonna be real rude and ignore the guy, so he stepped in with, "This is Inuyasha. I'm Takeshi."

"Pleased to meet you Takeshi, and you, Inuyasha," Sango said, making Takeshi turn scarlet.

"So your name is Inuyasha, huh," Miroku asked. 'This is great! He just might be the one we are looking for! We just need to see one thing to confirm it.'

"Yeah, what of it?" Inuyasha asked brusquely, now a bit annoyed, not only was the guy fussing over his fucking name. The woman, Sango or Tango or something, really reminded him of the dream girl he desperately wished to forget.

"Aaah! HENTAI!" The shocked shout and loud snap as hand hit cheek from the other table cut him from his musings. He looked back at the pair to find Minoku, or Miroku, whatever his name was, lying flat on the floor with a large throbbing red handprint on his cheek. The girl was looking enraged, and Takeshi also seemed a tad surprised.

"Did that guy just stroke your butt?" Takeshi asked incredulously.

"Yes, and mind you, he does that all the time. Without permission. Would you believe that he's a priest-in-training? A houshi, indeed," she glared at the fallen man, and Inuyasha started to laugh.

Sango stopped glaring at Miroku to look at Inuyasha. 'If he is the one we seek, I have to make sure before we take him. Now how do we get him to show us his chest,' she thought as she smiled at him, eying the thick red shirt he had on.

"So the guy's a groping pervert?! This is just too weird. His name's Miroku right?" Inuyasha asked, still looking amused. When Sango nodded, he smirked. "Named like the Buddha but blessed with cursed hands!" he added.

'Cursed. You have no idea,' Miroku thought grimly as he started to get up. "Well, I can't help it. Sango-sama has the body of the goddess of grace," he said, making Sango's cheeks redden. In embarrassment or anger? He may never know.

"You can say that again!"

Four pairs of eyes turned to the source of the voice. It was a guy Inuyasha recognized. He couldn't recall his name, but he was definitely one that he had already beaten up during the previous month.

"What do you say to a one on one, sweet cheeks?" the large beefy guy asked Sango.

"They're here for coffee, asshole. Not a one on one with a screwed up loser. Now fuck off." Inuyasha said, looking up at the guy with a smirk.

The man glared at him, then turned away, not wanting another broken rib.

"Thanks Inuyasha," Sango said. She could have handled the guy, but thanks to Inuyasha, she need not worry. She looked up as a waitress came up to her and Miroku with a tray with two coffee cups, then drank her beverage in silence with the other three men.

oooooooooo

Sango and Miroku were walking down a deserted alley, discussing their mission.

"I think it is him, Sango-sama. His name is proof of it. He looks the same as the image in the prophecy as well," Miroku said.

"Indeed, but the image in the books show a silver-haired man. They look quite alike, but the hair is different. And, we have yet to see the mark on his chest," Sango replied.

"But my lady, how do we ask a man to shed his shirt?"

"I'm working on it, you lecherous Houshi!"

"Maybe you could try seducing him into bed! That could make him take off his shirt!" Miroku suggested, not noticing the gradual ticking in his companion's brow. "Of course, I'll be there to 'watch' as you accomplish our solemn mission in bed with him..."

Sango's fist connecting with his jaw did not allow him to finish his statement.

"As I was saying," Sango continued, "I'm working on it. But I really don't know how, short of peeking into his bedroom while he's undressing!"

"Well, we'd better work harder then. The princess has been gone for some time and who knows what could be going on back in Crystallia right now!"

They walked some more until a group of about ten men suddenly blocked their way. Sango quickly recognized one of them. It was the guy who bugged her from the coffee shop.

'The thug gathered reinforcements,' Sango thought nervously.

"Glad to see that you've strayed from Inuyasha. The guy's a pain in the neck, literally. How about that one on one, lady?" the guy asked again.

"No. I am accompanying someone as you can see," Sango and Miroku tried to push past him, only to find that the other men were blocking them again.

"You don't get it do you? That was not an invitation," he said, grabbing Sango as the other guys grabbed Miroku.

Miroku struggled but it was nine against one. The beefy guy had pushed Sango to a wall and was trying to kiss her. "Sango!"

"Houshi-sama!" Sango shouted back as the guys holding him back started to beat him up. The thick man holding her pressed her harder against the wall, feeling her up. She struggled harder and screamed, "HELP!"

oooooooooo

"HELP!"

Inuyasha stiffened as he heard the call. It came from about two blocks away.

"Yo bro, what is it?" Takeshi asked his companion.

'Shit, I know that voice,' Inuyasha mused as he listened again. Then it hit him, "Sango!"

He rushed past Takeshi and followed the distressed call. Takeshi just shrugged and went home. Inuyasha would probably get into another fight. He didn't need Takeshi to act as cheerleader. He'll probably tell him about it anyway.

When Inuyasha reached his destination, he saw a bunch of guys beating up a seemingly unconscious Miroku and the same thug holding Sango down and trying to brush back her shirt.

Looking at the woman and the fear in her eyes made Inuyasha once again see the girl in his dream. The absolute terror and pleading in those blue/gray eyes superimposed themselves over Sango's magenta, making his blood boil in absolute rage.

"Let her go, asshole!" he demanded, lunging for the guy. The man, who seemed ready for him, jumped away from Sango and reached into his pockets.

"Chikuso," Inuyasha muttered as he produced a knife. 'I still have my strength and speed even when dressed as a human, but shit, knives fucking hurt!'

"You ain't gonna get me now, Dog-boy," he rasped, heading toward Inuyasha.

Inuyasha, who fumed at the thought of someone making fun of his name, jumped back as he struck. The guys who had ganged up on Miroku now left the semi-conscious lech to try to hit Inuyasha.

One guy threw a punch at him while another launched a kick at the same time. Inuyasha jumped back and elbowed a guy who had tried to sneak up on him from behind. His strength let him get them spaced out in one or two punches, but still, there were a lot of them.

More punching and kicking and dodging and thrashing ensued until he was left with only three people; one of which was the large guy he had now dubbed as "thug". Thug swung the knife again as he dodged another roundhouse.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a very worried Sango helping a heavily bruised Miroku sit up while watching Inuyasha fight.

Throwing a quick punch and knocking out one of the three guys, Inuyasha turned too late to see as Thug swung the knife again. The knife caught the front of his red shirt and produced a long jagged tear on his clothing, exposing his strange birthmark.

"Aw, fuck," he swore angrily, knowing he would miss his favorite shirt, hardly noticing that in his anger, he had unconsciously dropped a fraction of his human guise. His forelocks turning silver, he swung another mad punch at Thug's remaining comrade, knocking him out as well and leaving Thug alone with his knife.

"Do you have any fucking idea how much this goddamn shirt cost?" he raged, kicking Thug in the groin. The guy howled in pain and fell to the floor, dropping his knife as Inuyasha picked him up off the floor with one hand and growled.

"You ripped my shirt you pathetic ass. And you tried to touch a girl I now know. You ain't gonna get off easy," Inuyasha snarled and punched him square in the jaw, sending Thug to laa-laa land again. Dropping the bleeding jerk, Inuyasha turned to Sango and Miroku, taking in the gash in the guy's cheek, right next to the spot that Sango had slapped earlier.

"Oi, you both ok?" He asked, kneeling down in front of them.

"Yeah, thanks to you. We owe you one," Miroku said. Sango, however, was staring at his broad, now exposed chest.

"What's wrong Sango?" Miroku asked, then turned to see what had caught his companion's attention. His jaw dropped as he stared wide-eyed at the star-shaped mark on Inuyasha's chest.

Knowing they had noticed his birthmark, he said, "Oh, it's a birthmark. Isn't it." as he looked down, surprising even himself as he noted that the mark was glowing. "Weird," he added.

A lock of his hair fell across his vision, causing him to come out of the shock of seeing his birthmark glowing. "Oh fuck," he cussed as he realized that in all the action, he had completely dropped his human disguise. His dog-ears swiveled as he heard Sango gasp.

Now both Sango and Miroku were staring at him. His golden eyes flashed annoyance at the two humans as he said, "Alright, so I'm not entirely human." but Sango cut him off.

"It's you! Oh, by the Gods, we finally found you!"

"Thank the Gods, you are real!" Miroku chimed in. Inuyasha was now totally confused.

"What do you mean, lecher? And someone tell me why you're both gawking at me like I had grown two heads!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Inuyasha-sama," Sango began, surprising Inuyasha. 'Sama?' he thought. "We come from another world searching for you, the one who would free our ruler from her prison and restore our land and free us from a curse," Sango continued.

"We... were sent here by our people to find you, Inuyasha-sama. You are the man in our Holy Prophecy!" Miroku added, his face shining with glee.

"Did you two hit your heads harder than I thought or is this your idea of a joke?" Inuyasha retorted, beginning to inch away from the two.

"No joke, great one. We were sent here with clues as to who the legendary knight is. He is to have silver hair, golden eyes, inhuman strength and the mark of the golden star on his chest. In our world, that is a mark of royalty. It is the same mark our abducted princess has. And it is not just the hair and eyes. Every feature of your face is the same as that of the illustrated image in our books. Please help her. You are the only one who could do so," Miroku said.

"Funny. You couldn't pull my leg, Buddha boy. I'm smarter than I seem," Inuyasha stood and turned to walk away, but Sango's hand on his pant leg, and her next words, stopped him.

"Do you wish to disappoint the lady in your dreams? Have you not heard her calling out to you? She is in pain Inuyasha-sama. Would you not help her?"

"How did you know of my dream?" he hadn't told anybody about it. How did she know? Could this possibly be for real? They said he looked like the image of the guy or something. Was this why Sango had stared at him the way she had in the café?

"The prophecy states that in the time of greatest crisis, the ruler would use her last power to call out to the legendary knight, to you. Then he would come and rid our world of the scum that dared to defile our princess. Please, come with us. Let us take you to our world. To Crystallia. It would not be long. We beg you," Sango implored, her eyes shining with tears.

Inuyasha didn't know whether to believe or not. He turned back to them and surprising even himself, asked, "Your world? Where would that be?"

"It is in a dimension parallel to this one. Please, Inuyasha-sama. Seven weeks is all we ask. Your quest would be done by then, and besides, done or not, you would return to this world in seven weeks anyway since that is the dimensional law. Please, Inuyasha-sama."

"But, my mom, my life here... I go to school you know. I'm only out coz it's a weekend." He said nervously while trying to think of a way out. He still wasn't sure if he could truly believe this, and his stubborn nature refused to budge.

"The reason you can only stay in our world for a certain period of time is because you are a time key. Time stands still in your dimension once you leave here. Your world will be perfectly safe. I know everything seems confusing, but I swear to answer all your questions back in our world, if you agree to come," Miroku said.

Inuyasha briefly thought back to his dream. The sad lady, who he now knew was a princess, and her sad eyes, calling out his name. Should he go? He wouldn't miss anything since time would stop, and needed a good adventure anyway. Then he decided.

"I'll do it."

Sango nearly jumped for joy. She instructed Miroku and Inuyasha to hold on to her as she started chanting incantations. The world started to spin, and Inuyasha looked around for a last look at the world he would be missing for seven weeks.

'Here goes nothing,' he thought.

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A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 1. Please read and review. Thank you very much for your time.

ScarletRaven1001


	2. The First Encounter

A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 2. Please read and review. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and co.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

2. The First Encounter

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'Here goes nothing,' he thought.

Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly as a blinding light erupted from Sango's clasped hands. He could still hear her chanting the strange words, but the light was too bright that he felt like it was actually seeping into his brain.

Sango's voice started to get louder and he all but held on to her for life. He was practically sure that it wasn't a trick by now. He felt Miroku shifting beside him, his hands not daring to leave their place on Sango's arm.

"Don't let go, Inuyasha-sama!" Miroku said in a panicked voice.

Inuyasha was getting slightly frightened, but his stubbornness made him refuse to accept the fact himself. Sango stopped her chanting and not knowing why, he just held on until he felt like his feet had left the ground.

He opened his eyes a tiny bit and almost died from a heart attack. 'God dammit, I'm fucking floating!' His mind screamed. He closed his eyes again, his grip on Sango growing tighter.

He was rather surprised when Sango spoke again, but this time, her voice was rather somber. "We're here," she declared. Inuyasha once again hazarded a glance and let out a whoop of relief when he saw that he was now on land.

He took off his badly ripped shirt as he quickly let go of her and looked around the place. The heat of the plain, as well as the dry, scorching sun on his skin stayed as a painful reminder that he was now basically topless.

'I'm such a damn idiot, I should have at least packed or gotten another shirt before coming with these freaks,' he thought as he looked around.

Right, it was definitely not Tokyo. He was standing on some kind of round platform, with nothing but vast emptiness surrounding him. There was not a single tree, not even a sole blade of grass. The whole place looked like one huge desert.

'They want me to help them save this dump?' he thought as he noticed a few dead animals lying a few meters away from him.

"Hentai!" a sharp smacking sound accompanied by Sango's angry voice broke him from his solemn observations. Apparently, since they got there, Miroku's tight hold on Sango's arm went down lower to find a very private part of her back profile.

Miroku rubbed his cheek as Sango fumed and Inuyasha stared around again. Miroku noticed the hanyou's reaction.

"It's terrible, isn't it? It was not like this before the Lady Azalea was taken from us," Miroku said, irony filling his voice.

"Lady Azalea?" Inuyasha asked absently.

"That is the name of our princess," Sango answered.

Inuyasha was confused as hell. 'How could a single wench's abduction do this to an entire land,' he started to ask but was cut off when Miroku answered his unspoken question.

"Our princess, unlike the royalty in your land, is the person responsible for the entire land and its people. Her power, which we call the Shikon, protects us all. Once she is taken from her duties, the power ceases to keep the land and this happens," he stated.

"So she's like some kind of god in here? So this power was, what, passed down to her? I don't get it," Inuyasha remarked.

"Well, it's really hard to explain since our world is different from your own," Miroku started. "We have our gods, but the princess is our direct link to them. She sends out prayers to them for support. Prayers so strong, the gods take them in," he added.

"Perhaps it would be better if go to the palace first, Houshi-sama," Sango said. "The outside is dangerous for those of us under the spell."

"What spell? You have a castle?"

"Yes, Inuyasha-sama. We'll tell you more when we get there," Miroku, the self-declared religion expert answered.

oooooooooo

A dark figure clad in a large pelt glared at his viewing mirror, the things he saw greatly offending him. 'So, they sent for reinforcements?' he thought.

"That will be enough, Kanna," he instructed his minion of nothingness, who, dressed in all white, held the mirror for him. At this, he turned his head to find his other subordinate.

"Kagura," he called the being, who hastily came forward, withholding a sneer behind her fan. "The have sent for one whom they think can best me. Get rid of him."

Kagura's scarlet eyes sparked with defiance, but she dared not speak a word.

"It will not be too hard, even for a useless slave such as yourself, since I hold the Shikon's power prisoner. Do not fail me, Kagura."

"Yes, Naraku-sama," she answered before retreating into the darkness.

oooooooooo

They had been walking for two hours now, and Inuyasha was getting impatient. He glared at Sango. 'Why couldn't that damn wench just transport us there or something? No, fuck that, why couldn't she have brought us there in the first place?' he thought angrily.

His angry ranting was cut-off when Sango declared, "We're here," with a small smile.

He stared at her as if she had just bled a river. "What do you mean 'we're here'? That's a fucking cave! How... oh, damn," Inuyasha was cut off when the cave started to vanish and was replaced by a palace with crystal-like walls and tall turrets. It was surrounded by a long transparent gate topped with gold trimmings. The whole thing looked like it was made of either glass or ice, and he was just plain struck dumb. It would have been an enchanting building, but there was just one problem: the place looked like it had not been used in ages. Inuyasha could just imagine tons of cobwebs all over it.

"That was a camouflage barrier," Miroku noted to Inuyasha. Then, "I'm surprised that it still works, Sango."

"So am I, but I am very thankful for it."

Guards stood by the massive gates of the palace. Inuyasha defiantly looked up at them, as if inviting a fight, but they just bowed low to him as he passed. He heard faint murmurs of "It's him, the warrior has come to aid us," and "It's Inuyasha-sama! We are saved!", but decided to just ignore it.

They entered the palace and Inuyasha felt a shiver run down his spine as he got a better view of the badly kept halls. He could tell that the place could, indeed, be very beautiful if it was well kept. The walls, which from the outside looked thin and feeble, were made of thick crystals. Gold statues of godly people lined the walls and the floor sparkled faintly with every step.

Miroku opened a large set of doors and they came upon the main hall. The hall was dark and morbid, and before the wall farthest from the door stood a high pedestal with an orb-shaped throne of gold and dirty crystals. An old, thick black book stood on a table on the right of the throne.

Inuyasha just stared. It was definitely a strange place.

"Inuyasha-sama," Sango called to him. "This is the main hall. That," she said pointing to the throne, "is where the princess is seated."

Inuyasha started to stop walking when he noticed that Miroku, who was motioning to him to follow, was still walking. He led him to another room which was right next to the main hall. It was just as messy and spectacular, only the podium in its center contained a set of red robes that looked somewhat like an ancient Japanese haori and a battered old sword within its scabbard. The items were inside a crystal half dome.

Miroku was looking up at the old things with such reverence that Inuyasha had to wonder what and whose stuff they were. He turned away from the things to see Sango walking up to them, the old book in her hands. She stopped right in front of him and opened the book to a certain page to show Inuyasha something. Curiosity got the better of the teenaged hanyou and he looked down on it. What he saw shocked his pants off.

"That... that's me! How...?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Sango chuckled. "We told you that you are a part of our prophecy. This book is the statement of the holy prophecy as told by our very first princess. Our princesses, though mystical beings, are mortal," She looked down at the written characters.

"Shall time come that a person powerful enough to hold the princess descends upon us, a being of immense strength, power and skill will be called forth by the princess. This man, the legendary knight, bearing the name of a canine demon, shall come for her, and rid the world of the evil who dared to harm the delicate cycle of Crystallia," Sango read aloud.

"Alright. So I find the princess and that's that?"

"I'm afraid it will not be that easy. The being who took her is powerful, and he may attack you and cause other disasters to stop you from doing that," Miroku answered.

"I was kinda expecting that. I watched cartoons, you know," Inuyasha answered.

"He is very powerful, Inuyasha-sama. You may be endangered and... there is nothing we can do to help."

"Oh, so, I'm supposed to find this princess of yours and everything, alone? I've never been here! I don't know where to start! Fuck, I don't even know where the bathroom is! And what the fuck is this about me having some power thing? Skill, I got a lot of. Strength too. But power? I dunno," Inuyasha countered.

Miroku could sense the warrior's apprehension. He picked up the red robes, the robes no one had EVER laid a finger on, and handed them to Inuyasha, who just stared at him.

"They are yours. These robes serve as an armor to the wearer, They were made by the very first princess of this land. Your power has yet to be unleashed, though I regret to say that we don't know how. And this sword," Miroku said, motioning to the battered weapon, "is the Tetsusaiga. It is a powerful weapon that can only be controlled by one person, and that person is YOU."

Inuyasha was somehow unconvinced. "What if I'm NOT the person that book is talking about? What if the descriptions just fit me and yet..."

"Inuyasha-sama, we are sure that it is you. If you are not convinced, try to take the sword out of its scabbard. It will only spring out at the hand of its destined user."

Inuyasha took the covered sword in his hands and tried to pull it out. Miroku said it will only spring at the hands of its owner. He pulled it out roughly and was rather surprised when it sprung out. He was even more surprised when he found that it was even more battered than it seemed when inside its case.

"This is powerful, you say? I doubt if this thing can even slice up a block of butter," he said.

"We understand your doubt Inuyasha-sama." Sango began.

"And drop the 'sama', will ya!" Inuyasha interrupted.

Sango was skeptical, but obeyed. "Inuyasha... we... the sword will produce the power in time. About where the princess is, your mark will lead you to her. You will understand once you leave this place, the Crystal palace. All we know is that she is being kept in the Garnet tower. It is in the most northern part of this land."

"The name of her abductor is Naraku," Miroku said. "He is a vile being who was blessed with a blue star. His evil made his mark turn black though."

"Would you mind telling me something about these marks? I still don't get it."

"These marks serve as a sign of what we are or where we stand in this kingdom. The princess and the legendary knight are blessed with the golden star. The mystical guardians, like Sango-sama and myself, are blessed with the red mark. Soldiers bear the blue mark."

"So this Naraku guy was a soldier here? And what about that curse you were talking about?"

"Yes he was. He disappeared two years ago and when he came back, it was just to abduct our princess," Sango said. "The garnet tower that I speak of is a forbidden fortress that is fabled to hold the unholy power that was sealed long ago. He probably took hold of it somehow."

"The curse," Miroku said "is that no one who bears a star mark can use their powers outside the palace. That's why all of the guards and palace people are stuck in here. Naraku cast the curse upon us when he took Lady Azalea."

"OK," Inuyasha was still reluctant. "What did that prophecy thing mean when it said something about touching the princess?"

"Simply that no mortal, males, in particular, of power less than the princess' can touch her. Literally."

"I think I get it," Inuyasha said. "So, I put this weird red thing on, don the sword and go? And you guys can't come with me, right?

They nodded.

"If you do not wish to push through with it, we can always return you to your home and..." Sango said.

"And you think I'm gonna back down? Shit, you got me involved and now you think I won't do it? Damn, I ain't afraid of anything! I'll do it!"

Inuyasha gulped inaudibly, then asked both people to leave so he can change into the armor.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha really didn't know how to put the weird things on and thought about calling for some help from Miroku. While trying to figure it out, he thought about his 'quest'.

'This could be great,' he thought. 'At least I'd get to see that girl in my dream. I'd bet she's really something! I really want to meet that Azalea girl. She's the reason why I had accepted this quest in the first place. Those darn pretty eyes. But I still don't know why she was abducted. Did that Naraku guy just want to take over the land?' he thought as he twisted the old sword in place at his waist.

When Inuyasha was all dressed, he looked at himself in a mirror hued wall and crinkled his nose in distaste. 'Damn, I look like a youkai from the Sengoku jidai!' he thought (). He turned around to see how he looked from behind and smirked. 'No wonder girls fall for me. Keh,' he thought smugly to himself, allowing himself a moment of vain Narcissism.

He left the room to find Sango, with her back to him, dressed in a pink outfit similar to an old kimono. When they were in his world, both Sango and the lech had worn normal jeans and shirts. Now, her curves were barely visible. 'Miroku must get upset about their normal clothing,' he remarked to himself dryly. He cleared his throat as a way of making his presence known. He was, after all, important in this land.

Sango turned to find him dressed and felt her throat catch. 'Well, well, well. If he wasn't the legendary warrior, I'd jump him,' she thought with a silent giggle. She didn't quite realize how... er... pleasing he looked while he was dressed in that weird, rough clothing of his. Now that he was in clothes that she recognized... 'Wow,' she thought as he turned in place, asking how he looked. 'That butt could kill!'

Inuyasha laughed inwardly at Sango's surprised reaction. Her eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets!

Miroku entered right at that time to find 'his fair Sango-sama' ogling at the guy they had just picked up from the next world and sighed. 'So he looks good,' he thought grudgingly, adjusting his indigo robes.

"Looking good, Inuyasha-sa... I mean, Inuyasha," he remarked, belatedly remembering Inuyasha's 'request' to be called by his name.

Inuyasha just nodded, then, "You guys said I have only seven weeks. I dunno nothing about this land of yours, so I need all the time I can get. I'd better get going," he declared.

'Yup, he's got the will,' Sango thought. "I believe you're rather enthusiastic, but you're right. Here," she said handing him a round amulet of gold, with a large red gem imbedded smack center. "That will serve as a means of communication between us and you. We have one just like that. Just call out the name of the one you wish to speak with and the amulet will answer."

"So this is some kind of walkie-talkie?" he asked. At Sango and Miroku's confused looks, he decided to just clam up and motioned for them to speak.

"And here are some things you may need. I packed them for you," Miroku said. He handed Inuyasha a flask of water, some gold coins which Inuyasha assumed was local money, and a small image of the princess. It was not expertly drawn, but he could make out the features. Black hair. Gray/blue eyes. Yup, it was her.

"That water flask never goes empty, Inuyasha. Miroku packed you quite a lot of money as well," Sango said.

"Oh, and one more thing Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Only those who work at the palace know of the prophecy. Outsiders do not. So... you may frighten them but..."

"It's ok," Inuyasha said, heading for the great doors of the palace. He had somehow been expecting that. He heard Sango and Miroku shouting encouragements but he didn't even look back. He wanted to find the princess and get it over with as soon as possible.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha despised his outfit. He felt hot and dehydrated. He could have sworn that the self-filling flask would go empty at any moment at the frequency of his drinking from it.

He had been walking for two hours already. He still didn't understand why the two had been so worried. There was not a single disruption in his journey! Except for the hardly bearable heat, of course.

'Damn. That Naraku guy did a good job in ruining this place,' he thought dryly as he noted the barren lands and dried vegetation. The palace seems to have been set quite a distance from civilization. That or it was far south and the Garnet tower was far north. Damn.

He had not encountered a single soul since he started walking two hours ago. 'Where did all the people go?' he asked himself. He looked into the folds of his robes at the 'walkie-talkie' and thought of talking to Miroku just to kill his boredom, but he had his pride.

oooooooooo

'Hmmm,' Kagura thought as she looked at the silver-haired man walking aimlessly around the deserted land. 'So that's the knight? He doesn't look like much,' she motioned to the tens of bat-like creatures she had summoned to get rid of the warrior. They were eagerly licking their chops at the prospective meal.

"This will be a piece of cake," she said as she signaled for them to attack.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha turned as he smelled something putrid. He covered his nose as he looked around and spotted something flying towards him. He shrugged it off until he realized that the being was getting larger and larger as it got closer. He looked back and saw to his surprise that behind it there seemed to be at least fifty other beings. Bat like things, all coming at him!

He let out an impressive string of curses as he took out his amulet.

"Miroku!" he shouted at the amulet in panic, not knowing what to do. Miroku's image appeared on the red gem and noticed Inuyasha's panicked reaction.

"Inuyasha! Are you under attack?" Miroku asked.

"What do you think you fucking idiot?! No one ever told me that huge bats were gonna try to rip my head off!" Inuyasha countered as the bats came even nearer. He was really quite frightened. He had been to many cat fights before, but he had never been attacked by youkai!

'Oh, shit. Here they come' he thought as Miroku told him to take out his sword.

Inuyasha threw his communicator aside as he readied himself. Use the sword? Was Miroku crazy? That sword couldn't do anything.

He had never actually fought for his life back in his world. He always held his strength back a fraction. But now. 'I guess I should do full power right now.'

He cracked his knuckles as the first one came within range. As the ugly thing opened his mouth, Inuyasha sucked in a breath, bared his fangs and claws and...

"Sankon Tetsusou!" he shouted as he struck his opponent with a blow that he had always DREAMT of delivering. His claws cut clean at the bat creature as it fell to the floor.

'Damn, those daydreams of fighting youkai-style can really come in handy,' he thought as he struck one after the other down.

He was doing well but there was just too many of them. One moment he was fighting, the next, he found himself pinned to the ground, the ugly beings leering at him.

"So, this is all you can do Inuyasha?" the largest of the bats, who held his arms down, spat at him.

'They know me? So that means.'

"You guys work for that Naraku guy, don't you? No wonder I could smell you guys from a mile away," he snarled back. He tried to get up again, but there were about ten of the creatures holding him down.

The large bat, who was their leader, produced a long dagger and poised to strike his heart.

'Fuck, this is it,' Inuyasha thought. 'No way! I won't give up without a fight!'

He fought against the beasts surrounding him ferociously, but there seemed to be no hope. One of the bats was digging its claws into his shoulder, drawing blood, and the bat leader was standing above him, the knife a few inches from his chest, when a sudden, single arrow suddenly pierced through the monster's chest from behind. The arrow glowed for a moment before the creature it had impaled exploded and disappeared, the other bats scattering around to see who had fired the arrow.

As Inuyasha got up, he saw a couple more bats fall by similar arrows. He looked around to find who had helped him, and when he found the mysterious archer, his heart nearly stopped.

Her raven hair flew drastically about her shoulders as the wind whipped her short skirt to reveal long, shapely legs. Her blue/gray eyes flashed in victory as another bat fell by her hand. She turned her head to look at him for a moment, and for the first time in his life, as he looked at her well- structured facial features, Inuyasha was at a loss for words.

The bats started to rush at her, but to pay her back for saving him, and to remind the creatures that he was still there, he jumped up to block their path, delivering another one of his death blows.

There were still at least thirty of the beings. Inuyasha used his claws as the girl used her arrows, and without words, they helped each other slay the monsters one by one.

Inuyasha had his back to the woman as he shouted out another "Sankon Tetsusou!". When he turned around, however, he noticed that the woman was just about to fire her last arrow, and that one of the bats was getting ready to spring her once she was defenseless.

'Oh, no you don't,' he thought as he saw her fire. The bat rushed at her, and just as she turned to see the bat, Inuyasha raised his claws to his wounded shoulder .

"Blades of blood!" he shouted angrily at the offending being. He smirked at noticing that only two more of the youkai were left. He got rid of them with no further ado.

After finishing the last of the bats, he turned to the woman with a grin and said, "Hey, I owe you one, onna."

The woman grinned back at him and replied, "Nah. With that last one, we're all even."

She turned to walk away, but Inuyasha stepped up behind her and lightly grabbed her arm. "Wait, I..."

Much to his surprise, she spun around just as his fingers wrapped around her wrist and looked at him with an expression of shock.

"What, you never been touched before?" he asked jokingly. The woman just looked at him, then at his hand on her arm. She gently withdrew her hand.

"No, of course not. I was just... surprised. I get surprised very easily." she offered, gingerly rubbing her wrist.

"Oh, well." Inuyasha began. "I just wanted to... thank you... for helping me out in there."

"It was nothing, Inuyasha. We're even anyway," She replied and started to leave again.

Inuyasha was surprised. 'How did she.'

"Hey, wait! How did you...? You know me?"

She looked back at him and shrugged. "The holy prophecy. I've read a part of the scriptures." She continued walking away.

"But, I was told that nobody but the members of the guardian crew knew of the scriptures." He objected. This girl was getting weird.

"I have my ways," She said, not bothering to stop or look back this time.

"May I at least know your name, then?"

At this she stopped. "My name..." she said absently, as if pondering on the question.

"My name is Kagome," she said after a long silence, before continuing to leave.

"I'll see you around, won't I?" Inuyasha shouted as her form started to vanish over the horizon.

She turned her head and nodded slightly before completely heading out of the hanyou's sight.

"I'll take your word for that... Kagome," Inuyasha murmured softly to himself, staring at the point where Kagome had disappeared from his view.

oooooooooo

A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 2. Please read and review. Thank you very much for your time.

ScarletRaven1001


	3. Unraveled Secrets

A/N: Hi, I'm back! Oh and wow, I got reviews! Yay! I've got to admit, they are not as many as those that other authors got but they were great, so I have got to continue this!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.. Ok, whatever..  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Unraveled Secrets and Strengths  
  
-----/---@  
  
"I'll take your word for that.. Kagome," Inuyasha murmured softly to himself, staring at the point where Kagome had disappeared from his view.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura grinned as she kept her eyes on the scene. She stood downwind and noticed that Inuyasha was still ogling at the spot where that woman had gone to. He seemed to be particularly taken with her, and it only meant one thing: her plan was working perfectly.  
  
She continued to watch the well-built man as he gathered his forgotten wits and started to walk towards the direction opposite from that of Kagome. She held back a laugh as the man tripped over a sliced off limb of one of the bat creatures.  
  
'Those creatures were so useless to me. I never thought they could be of help someday. Neither was that stupid woman,' she thought gleefully as she went over the things she had observed of the man from the fight she had witnessed.  
  
She had used her minions to see how Inuyasha did in battle so that she could easily calculate her next move. He was impressive alright, and to think that he didn't even use that sword of his.  
  
Taking a feather for flight out of her elaborate hair, Kagura flew off on her transformed vehicle and proceeded to think of exactly how she would get rid of Inuyasha.  
  
-----/---@  
  
'Damn, what a chick,' Inuyasha thought as he turned to walk in the opposite direction. He stopped momentarily as he sniffed the air around him and realized that the woman's scent still hung in the air.  
  
It was the most fragrant thing in the world. A clean scent of jasmine and plum seemed to surround him as he took another deep breath, imagining the girl. Unlike Sango and Miroku, who wore traditional clothing, she had on her a short black dress with red trimmings around the skirt's flared edge and v-shaped neckline.  
  
She was truly gorgeous. And that was something, since Inuyasha was very picky with women. It was one of the few times when he felt particularly smitten with a woman. Her black hair was cleaner than a raven's hue, her full lips of a perfect rosy shade and her gray/blue eyes bore holes into his soul.  
  
'Gray/blue eyes?' he thought suddenly. 'Now that I think about it, her eyes look just like that princess' eyes. Cool.'  
  
He stopped abruptly as he realized that some invisible force seemed to be leading him to where he should go. He peered into his robes at the gold mark and saw that it was glowing slightly.  
  
'Miroku was right. My mark seems to be leading me to the princess somehow. I could just feel a pull towards the right direction,' he thought, quite amazed. And to think that he thought it was a silly birthmark!  
  
He kept on walking, contemplating the events of the day, until he noticed that it was starting to grow dark. He noted that the sunset had a hue similar to the color of his communicator's gem.  
  
'Oh damn, I forgot,' he thought as he remembered that the last thing he had called the palace for was to report the attack. 'They must be worried.. Keh! Good for them,' he thought as he pulled out the amulet.  
  
"Oi, Miroku!"  
  
As soon as Miroku's worried face appeared in his communicator, he yelled at him.  
  
"Teme! You never told me that youkai would attack me! You didn't even tell me that they exist in your fucking world!"  
  
"But Inuyasha, I thought you knew.."  
  
"No, I didn't know, you fucking idiot!" Inuyasha snarled at him. "I nearly DIED from that attack!"  
  
"Thank the gods that you didn't! We were so worried! We couldn't reach you through an amulet like you could do to us. You suddenly closed up the amulet after I told you to use the Tetsusaiga and you didn't call us back.."  
  
"And about that 'use the Tetsusaiga' thing. Let me tell you something: I CAN'T USE IT! If that girl hadn't come along I would be digging myself a fucking grave by now."  
  
"A girl?"  
  
"Yes, a girl. She helped me get rid of the fucking bat things. And where are all the fucking people? I've been walking for fucking miles and I haven't seen a single damn person other than that girl."  
  
"Well Inuyasha-sama, the town nearest to the palace is a few hours away from the palace. I regret not telling you those things sooner." Miroku said sheepishly. "It's late. Do you see any place where you could spend the night?"  
  
"I dunno.." Inuyasha said as he peered ahead. He saw, quite a short distance away from his current place, a small settlement. It was just over a couple of hills.  
  
"Yeah, I think I see a town up ahead," he assured Miroku.  
  
Miroku heaved a sigh of relief. "That's great! Just one thing though: don't trust ANYBODY. In times like these, people tend to turn away from the good so that they could be better off."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you again tomorrow." Inuyasha said curtly as he closed off the amulet again, heading for the said town.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha just sighed as he entered the town's gates.  
  
'I should have known,' he thought bitterly as he looked around to find the town painted in a now familiar, barren hue. It was getting dark and Inuyasha was rather tired.  
  
'Maybe I should run all the way tomorrow to save time and get it over soon,' he mused as he found someone he could ask for directions to the town's inn.  
  
He walked up to a man who seemed to be trying to plant on the draught- stricken soil. The man was shaking his head disgustedly, muttering to himself, though Inuyasha could hear.  
  
"Why did they let her get abducted? This village was great until.." he stopped his muttering when he caught sight of Inuyasha. The guy suddenly screamed.  
  
"Aaah! Yo- youk- YOUKAI!" he said hysterically, scrambling away as quickly as he could.  
  
People started to peer out the doors of their houses in curiosity, then quickly dashing back inside as soon as they see Inuyasha.  
  
"Youkai!"  
  
"Damnation, run everybody run!"  
  
"Hide, my son!"  
  
Everybody was in such a panic and Inuyasha simply stared in shock as the people hurried to go back to the safety of their houses.  
  
When his brain finally registered what was happening, he tried to object to the people's fear of him. "Hey, wait! I won't hurt anyone, I just.. oh, damn," he said when he finally realized that they were too terrified to listen to reason.  
  
'I guess I can't stay here,' he thought glumly as he turned to leave the town.  
  
It was already fairly dark and he was stumped. 'Where am I supposed to sleep, up on a fucking tree? Damn, I probably would if there WAS one around here. There are just dry trunks,' he thought rather angrily. 'Stupid humans.'  
  
He paused to consider when he heard Miroku's voice in his head.  
  
*Only those who work at the palace know of the prophecy. Outsiders do not. So. you may frighten them but.*  
  
'I guess they hate youkai. They must get attacked quite frequently,' he suddenly felt pity for the people, but it was dashed when he thought of his present predicament. 'Damn.'  
  
Just as he decided to run back to the village and beg the townsfolk for lodging, he smelled a familiar, fragrant scent in the air.  
  
'Kagome?' he thought, wildly looking around to make sure that his nose wasn't fooling him.  
  
Surely enough, there she was, walking towards the town he had just left. He could have sworn that she had gone to the opposite direction when they parted, so he was pleasantly surprised to see her there. He wasn't complaining, though.  
  
"Oi! Kagome!" he called out as he broke into a jog towards her. She turned at the sound of his voice.  
  
"Inuyasha? I didn't expect to see you so soon," she answered with a tiny smile that sent his heart somersaulting in his chest.  
  
"Neither did I. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I should be asking you that. What are you doing near a ningen settlement? These people are horrified of youkai. Even more so since the princess was taken," she remarked.  
  
"Yeah, I know. They acted all loony when they saw me," Inuyasha answered, turning annoyed eyes at the town.  
  
"Well they have reason to be. The youkai attack town people when they get the chance. When the princess was here she stopped them just fine but.. when she got abducted.." she trailed off as she looked around and sighed.  
  
"So, Inuyasha. No place to stay?" Kagome asked.  
  
"Nope. I was trying to go for the inn when everybody went ballistic on me."  
  
"Neither do I. Let's go find a cave."  
  
She started walking and Inuyasha followed her. Something was nagging at him though. For one, she seemed to trust him so quickly. And why was she around here when all the people were hiding away at home?  
  
"Hey, you're human. Why don't you go over to them and ask for shelter?"  
  
"They won't let me in," she said patiently. "They fear anybody who seems strange to them, and I'm not exactly an ordinary girl."  
  
'You can say that again,' Inuyasha thought as he watched the steady sway of her hips as she walked. She looked confident about herself, but Miroku's last words to him bugged him to no end. He liked her alright, but it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious.  
  
"Say, Kagome. Where are you headed off to?" he asked.  
  
"None of your concern, really. But since you saved my hide.. I'm off to try to find the princess. In case the one they tasked doesn't make it," She answered testily.  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about wench?" Inuyasha exploded, more than a little surprised. "You can't go around looking for the princess. You're not even a royal warrior, are you?" he added, then thought to himself, 'Besides, that's MY job!'  
  
Kagome stopped abruptly at his words. She turned back to glare at him hotly. "How dare you say that! I am a citizen of this kingdom and I want to bring it back to how it was before that bastard Naraku took Lady Azalea. And so what if I don't have your stupid marks?! I may not have been blessed with the mark of a warrior, but I am blessed with the spirit! This is my quest as I have tasked myself, and I am gonna finish it! And from what I see, you are a hanyou. You might not make it so.."  
  
Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly, she wasn't so cute anymore. "What the fuck?! Look girl, this is dangerous! You saw what happened today! You may be experienced or something, but this is MY fight now! They dragged me from my land for this mission! So, I won't fight your battles, and don't fight mine, bitch!"  
  
"YOUR battle?! Don't even say that, you idiotic, swellheaded gold star! You have no idea what you're talking about! This has been my fight before you even got here, and though you've been tasked to do this, I can still find her if I want to. That's MY choice! Besides, it's not as if I'm asking for your permission. I just saved your hide this morning!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, I saved your ass as well, remember? That makes us even," Inuyasha snapped back. Was this girl suggesting that he was not good enough? He'll show her..  
  
Just as he thought that the girl was readying a smart comeback, he saw a thin flash of light heading towards Kagome from behind. Without even thinking, he pushed her to the side and the sharp slice of youki hit him square in the chest.  
  
The pain was almost unbearable, and had he been human, he would have surely died. Kagome screamed as he fell to his knees, clutching at his bleeding chest.  
  
"Inuyasha, daijobu?" Kagome asked worriedly as she ran over to him and tried to hold him up.  
  
Inuyasha, however, was swearing upon his father's grave that he could smell something familiarly putrid in the air. His pain-clouded brain worked hard to figure out why it was so familiar when it hit him.  
  
"Bats.." he said as he looked around.  
  
"Nani?!"  
  
"The bats from this morning.. I smell them.. just one or two of them.."  
  
"But didn't we get them all?" Kagome asked, rather surprised.  
  
"It's either we didn't, or there is one person around who smells as bad as they do."  
  
They turned as a high-pitched laugh broke the silence of the night air. The laughter belonged to a woman in a lovely kimono, her red eyes flashing as she tried unsuccessfully to hide her wide grin behind a paper fan.  
  
"So THIS is the mighty Inuyasha from the legends?" she asked in a loud, mocking voice. "I am Kagura, mistress of the evil gales."  
  
Kagura's smile widened when her eyes met Kagome's fury-glazed orbs. "Why hello there, lady Kagome," she said with a sneer as Kagome seethed.  
  
"Kagura.. you bitch!" Kagome snarled as she helped Inuyasha stand. "I will never forgive you for what you and that bastard of a master of yours did to me! I swore that I will take back what you stole from me, and I swear upon Souta's grave that I will!"  
  
"Oh really, now? And what will you do about it?" Kagura smiled slyly and looked back to find a furious Inuyasha. He was glaring at her, his hand on the hilt of his 'useless' sword.  
  
Inuyasha gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga as he studied the woman before him. He was right in what he suspected. Kagura and the bats reeked the same odor. It must mean only one thing..  
  
"You work for that hell-bound Naraku, don't you? You and those bats smell the same, so it must come from your master!" he shouted. "I will kill you for trying to kill me, and for taking the princess and leaving this land to rot!"  
  
"Give me all you've got! Fujin no mai!" Kagura said as she released a wave of wind blades similar to the ones that wounded Inuyasha.  
  
As if acting on instinct, Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his arms and jumped up onto the nearest tall boulder to avoid the attacks. He winced as the impact of the jump racked his body and caused his wound to hurt further.  
  
"Stay here," he instructed a reluctant Kagome. He bolted down and headed for Kagura, his hand still on his sword. He didn't even know why he was considering the possibility of his rotten old sword being helpful, but he figured he should at least try it.  
  
With his mind set on surviving and on completing his mission, he took his sword out of its scabbard and took pity on himself at the sight that greeted him.  
  
The sword was rusty and worn and if he wasn't in such peril he would have laughed at it. He took a mad swing at Kagura and hit nothing but the space of air in which she stood moments ago.  
  
Kagura took one look at the sword and laughed. "You expect to use that horrid old thing on ME?" she asked sarcastically as she jumped away from his desperate blows and made another set of wind blades set for Inuyasha.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha was plain stumped. He had been dodging and blocking attacks with Tetsusaiga for what seemed like ages, and the bursts that managed to get near him cut up parts of his red kimono. He took another swing at the youkai and found his sword colliding with air and nothing else. He was unconsciously standing between Kagura and Kagome, and the star-less woman was burning with repressed hatred.  
  
He threw a mad punch at Kagura and his fist simply connected with a dry tree. He was in a rage, but there was nothing he could do. The blood loss was making him weak and he felt like he would pass out at any minute from exhaustion. Inuyasha was practically swaying. He had stopped moving for a moment to take a breath, his eyes cast upon the ground.  
  
Kagura used this moment to her advantage. "Fujin no mai," she said calmly as she swung her fan in a great arc to form her blades.  
  
"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome shrieked at Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha turned abruptly and in panic, grabbed the thing closest to him to use as a shield in desperation. He was surrounded by nothing but rocks, so he ended up just grabbing Tetsusaiga's scabbard.  
  
Shock was an understatement. He was more than stunned to discover that his useless sword's case had just blocked Kagura's strongest attack yet. He was unscathed as he emerged, and so was Kagome who sat stunned behind him. The scabbard had somehow formed some sort of barrier when he tried to use to block the Fujin no mai.  
  
"Whoa. How did you.." Kagome asked.  
  
"No idea," he replied as he picked up the Tetsusaiga.  
  
"Look hanyou," Kagura said suddenly as Inuyasha turned back to her. "Why don't you just run away for now, and we can finish this some other time. You see, I just got this wonderful idea.."  
  
Kagome stood right behind him, eying Kagura angrily.  
  
"I was thinking of how much I like that girl's dress, so I would take her and let you off for now. I just can't guarantee life for HER.." Kagura continued, referring to Kagome. Kagome just gawked at her.  
  
Inuyasha seethed. 'I am going to kill that slutty bitch.' He swore to himself as he readied his sword unconsciously.  
  
"I ain't leaving her, teme," he said harshly, though he knew at the back of his mind that he was practically helpless against Kagura.  
  
"Inuyasha, just go!" Kagome said suddenly. "You need to stay alive for the princess! You can't die! Go! Let that bitch take me. I can take of myself!"  
  
"Are you crazy, bitch? She'd kill you in a flick!" Inuyasha yelled back, not taking his eyes of Kagura's sneering face.  
  
"I don't care! You have a mission, remember? You can't beat Kagura yet! Leave me here! At least if I die, I'll die knowing that you are still there to rescue Lady Azalea.."  
  
"Shut up!" Inuyasha said, his eyes blazing. "I'm not leaving you here! I would die before I let her have you in her mercy."  
  
"But Inuyasha.."  
  
"I said shut up!" Inuyasha practically barked (^_^). "Don't you get what I'm saying yet, wench?!" He paused to regard her momentarily. "I said I would fight her to keep you fucking safe! Now, just sit there and let me protect you!"  
  
Kagome stared at him, speechless. Had he just told her that he'd protect her?  
  
Just as the words left Inuyasha's mouth, however, a bright light started to grow and envelop the sword. The bright flash lasted for just a bit more than a moment, but when it was gone, it left a huge fang-like sword in his hands. A tense youki seemed to hover around the sword's sharp edges and Inuyasha, who stared at his newly transformed sword in shock, could smell a weakly blowing wind around his sword.  
  
Kagura and Kagome also stood in a shock, but both had different thoughts running through their heads.  
  
"Wow, this is incredible, Inuyasha," Kagome said as a smirk formed around the hanyou's lips as he faced Kagura squarely.  
  
Kagura tried to look brave as she stood her ground, but was failing miserably. Knowing that she stood a small chance against the sword and that she should report this to her master, she began to pluck a feather out her hair and transformed it into a giant feather that would help her fly back to Naraku.  
  
Inuyasha, however, who was furious at the woman for wounding him and even daring to touch Kagome, made a mad dash for her as she flew and managed to strike her arm before she went completely out of reach.  
  
Kagura shrieked and looked down at her arm. Blood was flowing from a large cut that ran from her shoulder to the back of her hand and shouted in a rage at the offenders.  
  
"I'll be back for you, hanyou!"  
  
"Give it all you've got!" Inuyasha shouted back, quoting Kagura.  
  
Just as Kagura went out of sight though, Inuyasha's wounds finally took a toll on him. He was wounded head to toe, and he fell to the floor, dropping the now flimsy Tetsusaiga as Kagome ran to him.  
  
"Inuyasha!" A familiar voice cried before the darkness took over him.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well, how was it huh, how was it!? That chapter took me soo long to write. About three and a half hours! Dang! Anyway, Sorry for all the typos in the last two chapters.  
  
Oh yeah. Before I forget:  
  
Laura-chan: I'm glad you think it's ok. No, actually, I'm VERY glad. And about rayearth.. I've got to admit, I've never seen the anime, nor read the manga. They're similar? I'll look up the story of rayearth so I could write this without accidentally being TOO similar. You wrote "Infinito" and "Inside a Water Bubble", right? Wow, I loved those fics! I reviewed under a name. I can't remember, what the name was, though.  
  
Zephor: I'm glad you like it! So, here I am.. continuing!  
  
Jubilation: Oh, wow, thanks! I'm so glad you like it!  
  
Ginagurl1234: Yeah, I guess all that eye-exercise on fics got me wound-up. Thanks for the review! And I'm glad you like it!  
  
I hope you guys keep on reading and reviewing! Arigatou, minna! Ja matta ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	4. The Hanyou and The Thief

A/N: Hello! I'm back!  
  
Oh, wow. I'm getting more reviews with every chapter! I think I'm doing ok, right?  
  
Sorry I took so long to update. I had a lot of things to do for the past week. I had choir practice and summer enrollment, my boyfriend is giving me a hard time, and I get home sooo exhausted, sometimes I could barely breathe. OK, so I'm exaggerating.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha! If I did own him, I wouldn't be a virgin. But hey, I own a plushie!  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
The Hanyou and The Thief  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Sango-sama, I'm worried."  
  
"About what, houshi-sama?" Sango looked at the monk, who was staring off into space as he spoke. "Houshi-sama? Is something bothering you? You are hardly ever like this."  
  
Miroku laughed at the irony of his situation and thought back to the events of the day when Naraku took the princess before answering.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Miroku-sama!"  
  
The anguished cry filled the room as the princess watched Miroku thrown to the floor, screaming out her aid's name. She knelt on the crystal throne, her panic showing in her blue/gray eyes.  
  
"Naraku-san, please, stop this! What has come over you?! Naraku-san!" the princess called out as she saw him prepare to give Miroku another blast of youki.  
  
Miroku was wounded heavily, blood gushing down nearly every inch of his body as he tried unsuccessfully to get up. Souta, the head of security, lay dead at the base of the princess' throne, since he had taken a blast that had been meant for Sango. Sango was unconscious. Her last encounter with Naraku's fist had decked her badly.  
  
"Oh, hush, my dear lady Azalea. Soon you will know," Naraku laughed maniacally as he finally dealt the blow onto Miroku's bleeding form.  
  
"Miroku-sama!!!" Azalea screamed as she saw Miroku raise his right hand in his last attempt to shield himself.  
  
The attempt sent Miroku howling in pain as he absorbed the blast. When the light of the youki had vanished, Miroku's eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets as he clutched his right wrist, staring at his palm as wind seemed to gather around his hand.  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
"A lot of things are bothering me, Sango-sama. Firstly, Inuyasha-sama has not contacted us in nearly two days. It's not like him.." Miroku said distractedly.  
  
"Houshi-sama, may I remind you that we barely know him, so we do not exactly know WHAT he really is like." Sango interrupted. "You said firstly. What are the other things on your mind?"  
  
"Well," Miroku started. "Inuyasha-sama told me of a girl who helped him in his last battle. It seems rather odd. He said that she helped him fight off the youkai that attacked him. I'm guessing that whoever that was showed much strength, but nobody who does not have the mark has any such powers, and no one who bears the mark can use his powers outside the palace. It's strange, don't you think?"  
  
"Houshi-sama," Sango said thoughtfully. "You never told me of this before. What else did he say about the girl?"  
  
"He didn't say anything else. That was it. And I'm worried that she may work for Naraku."  
  
"You took the words right of my mouth. Now, what else is bothering you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I know there's something else Houshi-sama. And I know that this has nothing to do with Inuyasha-sama," Sango prodded.  
  
"Sango-sama, There really isn't anything else.."  
  
"Don't lie to me!" Sango blurted out, her eyes suddenly spewing tears. "I know you Houshi-sama. I've known you for six years. This incident has had more of an effect on you than it has on anybody else, since no one else has been cursed as much as you!"  
  
"Sango-sama.." Miroku started, his friend's tears making him loose his cool. "Alright, alright. Stop crying, lady Sango," he started soothingly. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling frame. "I admit, I am worried about the Kazaana.. this cursed wind tunnel on my hand. But.. it is not really of much concern.."  
  
"Shut up you lech! Tell me, you stupid monk. Have you forgotten what Naraku said about it?"  
  
"I remember perfectly," Miroku snapped back. "He said that the last blast that he gave me created the wind tunnel on my hand. It would suck in everything in it's path like a black hole would, and it would continue to grow larger until it has finally sucked me in and I would cease to exist. I know," Miroku said sadly. "I could only control the Kazaana because of the rosary and seals I had to put around my own arm. I'm scared, Sango-sama, but I must remain strong. Inuyasha will kill this monster and relieve me of this curse."  
  
"And what if he doesn't?"  
  
"Just trust him, Sango-sama."  
  
Sango looked up into his eyes as he smiled down at her. She saw fear, pain, anger and most of all, hope. He hoped that he would be free of this curse, and he believed that it was possible. He..  
  
SLAP!  
  
"Hentai!" Sango screamed, slapping him hard as she felt his hand stroke her butt.  
  
'Damn him,' Sango thought angrily as she stalked away. 'He always manages to ruin the moment."  
  
-----/---@  
  
The man stirred as he felt a cool dampness on his forehead. He felt stiff, his head was pounding and he couldn't open his eyes. He sniffed the air and caught a familiar fragrance in the air, along with an aroma that made his stomach growl softly. He could hear a beautiful melody somewhere near him, being hummed by the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.  
  
'Where am I?' he thought as he once again tried to sit up and open his eyes. He succeeded in the latter, but his body felt so sore..  
  
The singing stopped. He wanted to yell for it to continue but his voice seemed caught up in his throat. Then the voice was heard again, only, it wasn't in a song..  
  
"Inuyasha! You're awake!"  
  
With much effort, Inuyasha turned his head to the source of the voice and found a vision of beauty kneeling before him, gently running a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, brushing his bangs away from his eyes, her other hand resting on his chest.  
  
"K- Ka- Kagome?" he stuttered hoarsely, feeling dizzy.  
  
"Hai, Inuyasha. It's me. I was so worried.. You.." she paused as tears spilled from her eyes. "I am SO glad that you're ok! You wouldn't move at all and I.. I.." she stopped as sobs racked her petite frame, her hands covering her face as she began to sob on his chest.  
  
"OI!" Inuyasha managed as she started to cry on his chest. He hated it when girls cried! He didn't know why, but he just couldn't stand it. He was starting to panic, since as much as he hated seeing females in tears, he also didn't know just how to comfort them.  
  
"Kagome- oi wench! St- stop crying will you?!" he tried to shout but his gashed throat only produced a husky snarl. She only cried harder, burying her face in his chest, murmuring apologies, thanks and gladness at his being awake.  
  
"Oi! Kagome, stop crying please!" he tried again as his panic slowly made his voice get back to normal. "Kagome," he prodded again, lifting his hands from his sides and stroking her raven hair with his right hand while his left rested on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.  
  
Kagome stopped crying as she felt his hand tangle in her hair, his other hand gradually making her relax. She looked up into his worried golden eyes as her own glazed orbs began to clear up. His right hand left her long tresses and cupped her cheek, and she smiled a tiny smile at him, slowly standing to help Inuyasha sit up.  
  
Inuyasha's brain turned to mush when she smiled, and when she stood up, he had to resist the strong urge to pull her back down. Her next movement though, caused a violent shade of red to cross his cheeks. She wrapped one arm around his waist, the other tugged at his arm as she helped him rise off from the bed. When she let go, he had to look down on his knees, attempting to let his long white hair cover his face to hide his tremendous blush.  
  
As he looked down, he noticed for the first time that he was not wearing his haori and inner kimono. His chest was wrapped up in thick white bandages, as were his arms.  
  
He consciously looked down and sighed in relief when he saw that he still had his pants on.  
  
"Kagome," he began, then, pointing to his bandaged chest, he asked, "Who..?"  
  
"Oh," Kagome replied, knowing what he meant. She had gone to a small campfire and seemed to be cooking something. He thought it was probably lunch. "I bandaged you up. You got pretty bashed up when you fought Kagura. I didn't have any money so I couldn't go ask for a doctor, and besides, you're a hanyou. Nobody would want to help."  
  
Inuyasha blushed again as an image of Kagome stripping him of his clothes and diligently bandaging his wounds entered his mind.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked cautiously, pulling his thoughts from the wishful images his mind had come up with. "You're awfully quiet. Is something wrong?"  
  
Fighting to take the red blush of his face, he looked up at her and, "Who, me? Nah!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Hey Kagome," Inuyasha began. Kagome had told him that after the fight, he had passed out and she had to drag him into the nearest cave. She had laid him on a pile of hay that was in the corner of the cave and she nursed him back to health.  
  
"How long was I out?" he asked.  
  
"About two days."  
  
"WHAT?!" he exploded. "Two days? Gods! That's not good! I only have seven weeks max, and I lost two fucking days already?!"  
  
"It's not my fault, and neither is it yours, so cool it," Kagome remarked calmly, not even looking up from the stew that she was stirring.  
  
Inuyasha sat cross-legged on the straw bed. He looked down at his bandages thoughtfully as he sighed harshly. He began to take the bandages off his chest. He was still sore, but there was no stinging pain, so he guessed that his wounds had already closed up.  
  
Kagome looked back at Inuyasha as she heard a soft rustling noise, and gasped audibly as she realized that he was taking his bandages off.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she shouted as she ran towards him in an attempt to stop him. "What are you doing? Yamero! Stop that! Your wounds might get infected" she cried as she bolted and pulled his hands away from the partly undone bandages.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome pulled her hands back as Inuyasha continued to remove his bandages.  
  
"Inuyasha, you have got to keep those on for a while! I'll replace the bandages later, and.." Kagome was cut off as Inuyasha completely took the bandages off himself.  
  
"Your wounds.. where.. those wounds were fatal! How did they just disappear in less than 48 hours?!" Kagome asked in a shock as she stared as Inuyasha's now well-healed torso. Unconvinced at hwta she saw, she walked over to him and slowly felt around his chest with her hands. There was not a single gash nor mark.  
  
It took her a while but when she realized that she had practically been stroking his chest, she pulled her hands back as a violent blush bloomed on her cheeks. She looked up to see a smirking, albeit blushing, Inuyasha.  
  
"Baka," he said. "Don't you know that youkai heal faster than you flimsy humans?"  
  
"Of course I do!" She snapped back. "I just didn't think it was the same for hanyous."  
  
"Yeah, right," Inuyasha remarked as Kagome turned back to her stew with a huff.  
  
Inuyasha silently watched her from behind as she cooked their meal. She looked tired and pale, as if she hadn't slept in days ('And she probably didn't. She said that she watched over me the ENTIRE time,' he thought), but still looked vibrant and beautiful somehow. Inuyasha's eyes softened as he continued to watch her.  
  
"Kagome," he began. This time, she didn't even turn. He continued in a very soft voice.  
  
"Arigatou, anata."  
  
Kagome turned abruptly as the words left his lips. "Nani?"  
  
"Thank you.. for helping me."  
  
Kagome turned away as she felt a dark blush start its way on her cheeks.  
  
"Douitashimashitte. Think nothing of it." Kagome stuttered.  
  
An uneasy silence settled over the pair as Kagome continued cooking and Inuyasha found his haori and inner kimono, which she had put away when he slept, and put the white garment on. He didn't bother with the red haori just yet - it was hot inside the cave. Darn midday sun.  
  
Kagome turned slightly to catch a peek of Inuyasha as he was putting his shirt on. She blushed as her mind registered how handsome and well muscled he was, even with his strange demonic attributes. Her face flushed an even deeper red as she pictured his broad shoulders and toned abs in her mind's eye even after she had turned away. 'Damn,' she thought. 'I'm starting to think etcchi thoughts now?'  
  
"Oi," Inuyasha suddenly said from where he was sitting. "You said you had no money. Where'd you get the pot, bowls and food?" he asked, eying the said items.  
  
"Oh, those things," Kagome answered with a wicked grin. "Those villagers were SO cruel to you, so I decided that they should pay us back.."  
  
"You mean you STOLE those things?!" Inuyasha asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, what did you think cat burglars do for a living, baka?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Shit Kagome, that food was great!"  
  
"Why, thanks Inuyasha! I didn't know that golden stars liked Vegetable Stew."  
  
"Are you kidding? That was one of the best stews I have ever had!"  
  
"Aww, I'll bet you say that to all the cooks."  
  
"I'm serious! And do me a favor: don't call me a gold star!"  
  
The pair had just finished eating their lunch. Kagome had eaten one bowl. Inuyasha had practically licked the cooking pot clean.  
  
As Kagome got up to put the dishes away though, Inuyasha stared at her with a puzzled expression on his face. What happened after he defeated Kagura was a blank, but he could clearly remember what Kagome had shouted at his opponent before the entire fight.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Kagura.. you bitch!" Kagome snarled as she helped Inuyasha stand. "I will never forgive you for what you and that bastard of a master of yours did to me! I swore that I will take back what you stole from me, and I swear upon Souta's grave that I will!"  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
So, she has a dead brother and she blames Naraku for it. But what about the 'I will take back what you stole from me' bit?  
  
Realizing that he couldn't figure that out, and he'd be damned if he ever asked, he just decided to give the palace people a ring. He could probably tell them about Kagome and how she had helped him.  
  
He went for his haori and found that the pockets had been emptied. "Oi. Where are my things?" he asked.  
  
"You mean the ones in your haori's inner pocket?" she asked, then without even waiting for an answer, fished around beneath the hay and found the three items, then, looking them over, said, "This flask of your is great! It never gets empty! I used it for the food I cooked."  
  
"Yeah. Miroku said it fills itself up," Inuyasha said, puzzled when Kagome seemingly winced at the mention of the monk's name.  
  
"Well, you'd better call them up. They must be worried," Kagome suggested as she handed the items back to him.  
  
"Yeah. I should. I'd even tell them about you.." he began, but Kagome cut him off suddenly.  
  
"Dame! Don't. I.. Just don't, ok? I don't want anyone to know of me."  
  
"Ok," he said reluctantly. Then, turning to his amulet, "Oi! Miroku!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Miroku was rubbing his slap-stung cheek when Inuyasha called for him. The relief at knowing that the knight still lived flooded his senses, and, slap forgotten, he picked up his amulet.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Miroku cried, catching the fuming Sango's attention.  
  
"Inuyasha-sama? He called?" Sango asked, rushing towards Miroku to catch a peek at the well-missed man.  
  
"Inuyasha! You're alive! Gods, we were so worried! We thought you were-" Miroku said but Inuyasha cut him off.  
  
"It would take more than a horde of youkai to beat me up," Inuyasha said. Kagome snorted softly from behind him.  
  
"What happened Inuyasha-sama?" Sango asked as she grabbed the amulet. "You didn't call us at all yesterday. Were you hurt?"  
  
"Well.. " he began, not quite sure what to say. He wanted to reassure them, but Kagome..  
  
He looked back at her for a moment and she nodded, signaling that he should tell them that he was ok.  
  
"I just forgot to call you, ok? I'm only human.."  
  
Sango raised a brow. "Alright, so I'm part human. But still!" he added hastily.  
  
"You really got us worried Inuyasha," Miroku said as he took the amulet back.  
  
"Well you shouldn't have gotten so worried. I'm fine as you can see. And besides, don't you guys get any sort of signal for you to know when I'm dead?" Inuyasha said with a huff.  
  
"I guess," Miroku said. "Where are you by now?"  
  
"Like there are landmarks and road signs in here," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "I don't have a fucking clue where I am, but I do know that I am a bit closer to the princess."  
  
"That's great!" Miroku said. He was glad, but couldn't keep out the niggling worry that he was hiding something from him.  
  
"Have you been attacked lately?" Miroku pressed.  
  
"Just some damn bitch named Kagura."  
  
"Kagura?!" Sango suddenly exploded from behind Miroku. "That bitch attacked you! She's horrible, but she's good. How did you get away?"  
  
"You won't believe it," Inuyasha said, "But that rusty piece of scrap metal? The Tetsusaiga? It kinda transformed into this huge white fang-like thing."  
  
'That's odd,' Miroku thought. 'If I'm not mistaken, that sword only works when..'  
  
"That's great!" Sango exclaimed, cutting off Miroku's train of thought. "We knew we could count on you!"  
  
"Yeah, well," Inuyasha started again. "I'd better get going now. You guys try to figure out a way to end your stupid curse or something. Just do ANYTHING for Kami's sake, and I'll just take care of myself, ok? I'm off. Call you in a bit."  
  
"Yes, yes, be careful, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "But just one last thing, before you go.."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who's Kami?"  
  
Inuyasha just closed up the amulet.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"So, do we go now, Inuyasha?" Kagome said suddenly after Inuyasha stopped talking to the palace people.  
  
"We?"  
  
"Yes. WE." Kagome insisted. "After that fight I realized that I couldn't do this thing on my own. I found that out after you had to save me when Kagura and the bats attacked. And neither can you. You don't know this land just yet, and you can't use that sword except in saving other people, can you?"  
  
Inuyasha generally didn't know what she was talking about. 'What does she mean I can't..'  
  
Then it hit him. He couldn't use the sword in his first battle because he was alone. Maybe she was right..  
  
"And besides.." Kagome was saying something advantageous to his having a partner when.  
  
"When are we leaving?"  
  
"What?" Kagome said, surprised. She had expected him to object or fuss about it in any way.  
  
"When are we leaving?" Inuyasha repeated. "You're right. I need a tour guide. And you saved my ass a couple of times."  
  
Kagome sweatdropped. 'A tour guide?' Then..  
  
"Besides, I think I'd like to have you to keep me company." Inuyasha said. Then, as if realizing what he said for the first time, he blushed.  
  
Kagome was blushing as well. "Yeah, I guess," she said. "It would be less boring, and I doubt that you can cook."  
  
"Yeah. My thoughts exactly," Inuyasha replied. "So, what are we waiting for? We have a long way to go and I only have six weeks and five days left!"  
  
"Yeah, let's go!" Kagome said enthusiastically as she ran to a corner of the room to pick some things up. Inuyasha, however, noticed something.  
  
"Hey. What's up with the bandage around your right wrist?" He asked, coming up to her. Then, taking her hand in his, he asked, "Were you hurt in the battle as well?"  
  
Kagome's face was a ripe tomato. "I-iie.." she replied, shaking her head. "It's just out of habit. My wrist was broken when I was a kid, and I had to bandage my arm for so long that I kept doing it even when it wasn't needed anymore."  
  
Inuyasha noticed her blush and quickly realized why. He dropped her hand like a hot potato and said, "Well, I was just wondering. Let's go."  
  
"Hai," Kagome replied, picking up her bow, her quiver full of arrows, and a square cloth bag that held various items, including the pot and bowls they used. Inuyasha was clueless again.  
  
"Umm, Kagome? Where did you get all those things? I mean, the bag and the arrows? Last I checked your quiver was empty." He asked as they stepped out of the cave and into the afternoon sunlight.  
  
"Oh these?" she replied. Inuyasha nodded.  
  
"Same place where I got the bowls and the food," she said with an evil grin.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well. I think I would be right in saying that mindless fluff abounds in this chapter. It is just so hard to think with all the stress I'm in.  
  
Oh, thank you so much for the reviews! I loved every single one of them! I love my reviewers, I love reviews, I love you all!  
  
Responses:  
  
Laura-chan: Yeah, thanks for informing me. I read the rayearth summary and damn, they were similar. I didn't know Thief chap3 was up. I'll check it out right now! I'm still very glad that you like my story. And I understand what you said about difficulties in English. You're Italian, right? I'm Asian, so it could be the same for me at times. Thanks again for reviewing!  
  
Silver Dragon: Hey, thanks! I'm glad you like it. Now.. When will you update Angel and Demon? Oh, and pardon me for asking but.. how do I change the bio on my author profile? Thanks for reviewing!  
  
TheGreatCheese: Waah! No be angry! Me no like Ninja bunnies! Ok, breathe in, breathe out. I've updated. Sorry if I took so long. Hehe. By the way, please continue Never Forgotten. I REALLY like that fic! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it!  
  
So, there you go. And before I leave, I would just like to ask you to excuse me if ever there were any grammatical and typographical errors in this. You see, I am neither American, British, nor Canadian, and though English is basically my first language, I'm so careless, I get typos every now and then.  
  
Ok, enough ramblings.  
  
Bye bye! Please keep on reading and reviewing. I love you guys! Ja matta ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	5. Knowledge And Deception

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update. I broke my ankle and my mom won't let me do ANYTHING at all while my foot was swollen. Of course I can't go to choir practice, but she won't even let me type! Gods!  
  
Please read and review. Thanks!  
  
On with the story!  
  
Disclaimer: Who hunts for these things anyway? Pathetic lawyers... Listen here. This is called a FAN fiction story. That only means one thing: I am just a fan, a poor starving fan, who wants a shot at her favorite anime. Go figure.  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Knowledge and Deception  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
The pair had been walking in silence since they left the cave an hour earlier, and like any girl, Kagome just couldn't stand the lack of noise in the air.  
  
"I was just wondering... well... don't you have a human disguise or something? Seeing that the other ningens seem to be horrified of you, why don't you try donning it? It would give us less problems that way." Kagome said matter of factly.  
  
Inuyasha was dumbfounded. 'Stupid baka.' He said to himself. 'Why didn't I think of that?'  
  
"Well, I can do that," Inuyasha started as he desperately tried to think of a good fib to save face. "I just didn't think it was appropriate."  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome began patiently. "It would be MOST helpful if you use it right now. If you don't, we'll never get a decent place to stay, even with all that money in your pocket."  
  
He pretended to consider it for a while. "I guess," he said wistfully.  
  
He closed his eyes as he always did for his whole life to hide his demonic powers and physical traits, but he had been concentrating for a while when he realized that nothing was happening. He tried again, while Kagome stood looking at him worriedly.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"It's not working." He said irately. "It's fucking not working! What the fuck is going on?!"  
  
Kagome went over to him and suddenly pulled his shirt down to reveal his mark.  
  
"Shimatta," she swore to herself softly.  
  
"Ne?" Inuyasha said, blushing wildly. He made a mental note to tell Kagome NOT to suddenly pull his clothes down in the middle of the road. "Nanda? Doushite?"  
  
"Your mark isn't responding to your request," She said simply as she put his clothing back in order and pulled away. "You know that the rest of the star-marked people have been cursed, right? I guess THIS is the way the curse affects you. You don't lose your powers, but you can't hide them either."  
  
"That's bullshit!" he exclaimed! "That pervert monk didn't tell me about this!"  
  
"Then I suppose he didn't tell you a lot of things."  
  
"Chikuso!" he swore loudly. Then something occurred to him. "Oi," he said as he turned to his companion. "Why do YOU know so much about all this? I don't think ordinary people are allowed to know this much."  
  
Kagome paled and stared at him. She started to stutter, but decided against it. "What is it to you how I found out so much? At least my knowledge is helpful!" she yelled.  
  
"Don't bite my head off, alright?! I was just asking, onna! Why are you so edgy?" Inuyasha shouted back.  
  
"Because..." Kagome started, seemingly at a loss for words. "Never mind." She muttered after a while. She was blushing, and that got Inuyasha.  
  
"Iie! Tell me right now! You were gonna answer me, so don't cut it off!" Inuyasha yelled again.  
  
"I'm a criminal, ok?!" Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha just stared.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"I said I'm a criminal, you baka to yarou!" Kagome said again. "Remember I told you that I'm a cat burglar? Well..."  
  
"And how does that lead to your knowing so much?" Inuyasha interrupted as he started to continue walking.  
  
"I'm talking here, baka!" she shot back. "I usually went to the crystal castle at night, when everyone was asleep, because I wanted to know what went on in the palace. You see, I have always wanted to have a star mark coz I want to work at the palace, but as you can see, I don't have one."  
  
"I thought you guys get them at birth. I kinda figured that out coz it was that way with my mark." Inuyasha said thoughtfully.  
  
"Exactly. Well, my elder brother Souta had one. He was a warrior and I was so jealous of him. When day came that he was called to the palace, I was so sad and frustrated. Frustrated, because I wasn't one of those summoned. Sad, because, envious as I was of his mark, I loved Souta-oniisan very much, and I was never gonna see him again." Kagome said sadly.  
  
"Never?"  
  
"Yes. You see, once the star-marked people leave for the palace, they are forbidden to go back, even for the shortest of visits. They are to spend their entire lives in the palace, serving the princess. No other distractions." She explained as the familiar scent of salt filled the air. She was going to cry.  
  
Inuyasha hated it when she cried, so he rushed into telling her that she could stop if she wanted, but Kagome just shook her head and said that she needed to get it out of her system.  
  
"Where was I... well, before he left, Souta-oniichan and I made a deal. I had always been stealthy, so I promised to sneak into the palace every week to visit him. I did that, but one day, he told me of the book of the holy prophecy, and I was interested. After that, I kept visiting him, but he did not know that I went to the palace not just weekly, but twice every week. I always went to the chamber where they kept the book so that I could read the things written there. No one knew that I went there. At least, I thought no one knew..."  
  
"The princess saw me sneaking in on my second visit and decided to confront me when I was halfway through the book. I usually read with the lights off, with just a tiny candle, so when the lights switched on and I saw the princess there, I was shocked! I started to run but she held me back and said that she was not mad. She allowed me to read on, but made me swear not to tell anyone what I had read there."  
  
Inuyasha just looked at her in surprise. "You got more guts than I gave you credit for." He started to tease her, but stopped when the scent of salt grew stronger.  
  
"Oi, daijobu? Why are you crying? Oi! Wench! Stop that!" Inuyasha said hurriedly. Kagome just looked at him with a sad smile.  
  
"Lady Azalea has always been wonderful to me. Remember what I shouted out at Kagura when we battled her?" Kagome said.  
  
"Yeah..." he said reluctantly. He could remember alright. He had meant to ask her about that. Thank Kami that he didn't have to be the one to bring it up!  
  
"Well, Kagura destroyed our town a couple of years ago. It was after the book incident. Everyone in the village lost everything, and that's generally why I became a cat burglar. We used to be wealthy and pride- strung, but when we started starving, I had to leave town and steal food for my folks and myself. When the princess learned of it, she went to the town and did everything to help us by regrowing crops and everything." Kagome said as her sobs grew louder. "I stopped stealing and swore that I would do everything in my power to help her though she may not need it. So when she was abducted... and... Souta..."  
  
"Souta died in the attack by Naraku, didn't he?" Inuyasha asked slowly as he paused from his steady strides in the pointed diredtion. Kagome just nodded. "And that's why you left home to help rescue the princess and get revenge on Naraku and Kagura." He concluded. They had stopped walking again and Inuyasha was looking down at Kagome who was sobbing with her head down.  
  
He stepped up to her and held her by her shoulders. He made her look up at him and his heart constricted at the sight of her tearstained eyes.  
  
"Listen here, wench," he said. "We will defeat Naraku and rescue the princess. The land will be back to normal and though you won't get a star mark in return, you'll live knowing that you did things no other normal person did. And so will Azalea. Now stop crying and promise me that you'll be strong. That you'll help me in this." Inuyasha paused. "Promise me, Kagome."  
  
Kagome stared up at the hanyou with shining eyes. He was looking at her with such tenderness that she started to wish about the undoing of a certain part of the prophecy... the part where he would go back to his world.  
  
She found her heart start pounding at the sight of his golden orbs and the sound of her name on his lips. She just couldn't say no.  
  
"I promise, Inuyasha," she said with a tiny smile.  
  
Inuyasha pulled away and began to walk again. "Good."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura grinned as she made her way towards the princess' prison dome. Naraku had been disappointed that she failed in killing Inuyasha, but was pleased to know that she had managed to see him at work with the Tetsusaiga.  
  
Kagura slowly opened the chamber where the orb was in. The garnet tower's thick red walls cast an eerie shadow over everything around her but she didn't mind. She was not afraid.  
  
She put her candle down on the floor as she approached the princess. The thick barrier of the orb prevented her from seeing Azalea, but the light that came from within the dome was testament to her presence. She held the plate of food with one hand and called out mockingly.  
  
"Hey, princess!" she shouted. Azalea remained silent and Kagura frowned.  
  
'She's tougher than I thought' she mused. The princess had been one big crybaby when they abducted her. She cried all the time and begged to be freed every chance she gets. She used to cry at harsh words and even tried to break out of her prison a few times.  
  
But lately, she had been unnervingly calm. She just sat there, making no sound, accepting everything in stride. She wouldn't eat though, and Kagura could see in her mind's eye a pathetic picture of the princess' possibly now drawn cheeks and thin arms.  
  
'Well. Soon that hated beauty of hers will be gone if she keeps starving herself.' She thought.  
  
"Oi, teme!" she shouted at the dome. The princess refused to rise to her challenge. She just sat there, a soft light pulsing within the confines of her prison.  
  
Kagura pushed the plate through the barrier, careful not to touch it, or even brush it in the least. Youkai can not get through the dome, and touching the said thing sent a strong jolt through her body. And, it hurt. Big time.  
  
"Eat. Naraku-sama wants you to stay alive, you know. I just can't understand why, but he does. If you ask me, I'd say 'kill the bitch right now'! You hear me, slut?"  
  
She remained silent. Kagura fumed.  
  
"What happened? You lost your will, princess? Why don't you just give the shikon to Naraku-sama? Then we'll let you off to live with your pathetic friends."  
  
Silence.  
  
"You know what?! I think your warrior is going off track. He seems to be particularly smitten with Kagome. You know who she is? You don't do you? She's a stunningly beautiful liar who would lead Inuyasha right into my hands..."  
  
Kagura thought she heard some motion from inside the dome. 'So, that gets her upset?'  
  
The light from the dome started to glow red. Kagura's sense of self- preservation told her that she should run off at the sight of the mystic's anger, but knowing that the princess could do nothing, she continued.  
  
"Isn't it sad though? Knowing the truth, and yet knowing that there is nothing you could do. And you know what?" she padded on. "She looks like you!"  
  
The light from the dome grew in intensity until Kagura felt the heat from the dome.  
  
'Shimatta,' she thought. 'I'd better leave. She seems to be furious.'  
  
Kagura turned and without another word, left.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Night fell and once again, Inuyasha was faced with a dilemma. The big D: where to spend the night.  
  
Kagome was merrily walking along, humming and chatting, and Inuyasha decided against snapping at her to shut up. After all, those were very sharp arrows, and she was a very good archer...  
  
"Oi Kagome! Don't you wonder about what we're gonna do tonight? You know, where we sleep, where we eat?" Inuyasha asked, irritated.  
  
"Iie. I don't wonder. I know," she replied and Inuyasha fumed.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome turned to him, looking exasperated. "This place has tons of caves! Look around you! There's a town in that valley, so I know where we can get food. And we can sleep either in a cave or under a tree!"  
  
He just gawked at her. She seemed to have no qualms about sleeping in the ground.  
  
"Come on! Don't you wanna sleep on a bed?" he queried.  
  
"Of course I do. It has been AGES since I last slept on one. But please, let's work with what we have." She replied with a smile.  
  
"But we have more than enough money to buy an entire inn! Shouldn't we at least try again?"  
  
"You know as well as I do that people won't let you in if you're a youkai." She said calmly.  
  
"Isn't there a way?" he pressed. He was a rich guy back in his world - he wouldn't be caught dead sleeping on the ground, or straddling a tree!  
  
"I have one idea, but I don't think you'd agree."  
  
"Fire away."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Please, we need a place to stay. We're willing to pay all the money you want."  
  
The crying, pregnant woman pleaded with the innkeeper as she clutched her husband's hand tightly. The innkeeper really didn't want to have anything to do with it, but the woman was with child, and her youkai mate looked docile enough.  
  
The front of the woman's red robes were soaked with tears and sweat. They both looked wan from exhaustion, and though it was not normal for them to house youkai, he nodded.  
  
"Alright, But just for tonight. And not a word to ANYONE about this!" he said.  
  
"Oh, domo arigatou gozaimasu! May the gods bless your generous soul!"  
  
The pregnant woman's face glowed with joy at his words and she wiped her tears as she looked up at her husband and put her arms around his neck, hugging him.  
  
"Hush now darling. I told you it would be alright," the baby's father smiled lightly, as he held his wife. "Kind sir, how much do we owe you?"  
  
"Two gold pieces," the innkeeper said as the man fished around for his money. After taking the money, he gave them the direction and keys to their room.  
  
-----/---@  
  
The 'couple' burst into suppressed laughter as they closed the door to their room behind them.  
  
"Oh damn... would you believe that? He fell for it!" Inuyasha laughed out as he sat on the bed.  
  
"I told you it would work!" Kagome said as she took the pillow from beneath the haori Inuyasha had lent her for their 'disguise'. She took the haori off, threw it at Inuyasha and flopped down beside him.  
  
"I don't get it! People hate youkai! Why did they let us in?" He asked as he threw his haori to the floor and tossed Tetsusaiga on it as well.  
  
"Well... for one, they would pity the preg. Secondly, they know for a fact that demons who take humans for their wives would never kill other humans," she said, looking up at him.  
  
Inuyasha laughed again as he thought about it. "From now on, YOU make the sleeping arrangements."  
  
"Sure! Now... who gets the bed?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura walked with her sister, her excitement growing as the scent of the hanyou and his companion grew stronger. This time, she would not fail.  
  
Kanna, the said youkai of nothingness, stared vaguely ahead as she felt the aura from both.  
  
"Kagura, she is powerful." Kanna said.  
  
"I know that. That's why I told you to clear your soul-stealing mirror. She is an ordinary person, but after her powers were enhanced..."  
  
"I do not know if I can do it." Kanna replied solemly.  
  
"Nonsense! She just needs a tiny bit of reminding, anyway."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome stirred and shuddered as she felt an odd presence somewhere near her. It was unnerving. She wished she could detect scents as well as youkai could. That way she wouldn't have to worry too much about various beings.  
  
She got up and looked down on the floor to see Inuyasha sleeping on the spot beside the bed using his bundled up haori as a pillow, clutching at the sheets she had given him to use as a blanket. She smiled lightly at his prone figure, then frowned suddenly.  
  
'Stop it! You have a mission to take care of, and that does not include liking the subject!'  
  
She stood and walked towards the window. She started to close it when she saw a strange light coming from a distance.  
  
'Sore wa nani? What is that?' she asked herself as she continued looking. 'A signal...'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha opened one eye. He had fallen asleep on his haori on the floor. Something was amiss, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.  
  
He sat up to peer onto the bed to see how Kagome was, and he nearly collapsed when he realized that she wasn't there. He looked around in a professional paranoid fashion, hoping she was somewhere in the room.  
  
She wasn't.  
  
Inuyasha bolted up off the floor and started to put his haori on. 'Wait a bit... my haori's here?' he thought frantically as he realized that the pillow they used as a 'baby' was there as well, and Kagome may have gone out without putting the disguise on. They'd be thrown out!  
  
Thousands of other thoughts rushed through his head. He knew she wasn't THAT irresponsible, and definitely not dumb. She wouldn't do that! Maybe she was in trouble!  
  
He called her name aloud in the room as a last try, and when no one answered, he fastened his clothes and reached for Tetsusaiga.  
  
Problem was, it was missing as well. And so were the girl;s bow and arrows.  
  
"Chikuso!" he swore under his breath as he realized that Kagome may have them with her. "God damn woman! What is going on here?!"  
  
He headed out the door and stepped out into a dark hallway. Clearly, everyone in the inn was in bed. 'Why me?' he thought desperately as he turned the corner of the old inn and headed out the main door.  
  
He had just reached for the knob when he smelled the now familiar stench in the air. It was the scent of Kagura and the bat creatures. The scent of Naraku. Two people who bore the smell were less than a few meters away.  
  
His eyes widedned as he smelled another familiar scent: this was not nearly as foul as the other two. 'Kagome,' he thought wildly as he wrenched the door open.  
  
What he found greatly surprised him. It was Kagome, standing before a smirking Kagura and another white clad, poker-faced youkai. She was holding the Tetsusaiga and was about to hand it to Kagura! He was shocked to say the least, and he called to her in anger.  
  
"Kagome! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded as he stepped up to them.  
  
Kagome turned at the sound of his voice, her usually warm eyes glinting with malice. Her lips seemed frozen in a cold-hearted grin and she clutched the Tetsusaiga to her chest as he came closer.  
  
"How dare you!? You tricked me! I trusted you!" Inuyasha yelled furiously.  
  
Her steady gaze seemed to waver and her lips turned neutral. She held the Tetsusaiga less tightly as she continued to stare at him with gradually sombering eyes.  
  
That was when he noticed something peculiar. Kagome's eyes, though malicious, seemed blank. Her usual aura seemed weaker and he noticed a thin band of smoke wrapped around her throat. The same kind of smoke that circled the mirror in the hands of the childlike youkai.  
  
'She's under a spell?' he thought dazedly as the steady smirk came back on her lips. Kagome raised the Tetsusaiga and handed it to Kagura. Kagura, who caught it, screamed as her hands came into contact with the weapon and promptly threw it to the ground.  
  
'Kekai da... a barrier surrounds the sword! I can not touch it! Can it be that only that hanyou and those flimsy humans can touch it?' Kagura thought as she watched Kagome lean down to pick up the sword.  
  
Inuyasha watched as Kagome dropped the sword on a spot beside Kagura. She grabbed her bow from it's place, strapped on her back, along with an arrow, and aimed at him.  
  
He couldn't hurt her if she really was under a spell, so he tried to call her as her suddenly unsteady aim and grip on her bow falter.  
  
"Kagome! Baka! Snap out of it!" he shouted. She looked stern about killing him. He turned to Kagura and her companion.  
  
"Kagura! Teme... Fucking bitch! Let her off NOW!" he started to panic when Kagome aimed steadily and shot, the arrow heading at lightning speed for his heart.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: I still had so much on my brain, but the chapter seemed so looong to me that I had to stop myself from getting too carried away. I practically had to handcuff myself to restrain my 'itching-to-type-a-fanfic' fingers.  
  
Oh yeah. Responses!  
  
Drow goddess: Here's the chap! I guess we WOULD make a great team! LOL! Anyway, you should definitely try writing one! It is so much FUN! You spelled 'ja ne' right, don't worry. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! Please continue reading.  
  
Ginagurl1234: Now I'm all confused too...  
  
Vegito044: I'm sooo glad you like it! Thanks and please keep on reading and reviewing!  
  
Zeh Wulf: Yeah. He is kinda dense... I'm glad you like my story. Please keep reading!  
  
Laura-chan: Yup! Asian. I'm a mix of three nationalities actually... I agree, you're good at English. Like I said, I read your stories and I haven't seen any major errors... Thanks for reviewing!  
  
So, there! Thanks for reading and please review!  
  
Love you guys!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	6. Confusion

A/N: This is the revised version of chapter 6. Please read and review. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

Confusion

oooooooooo

"Kagura! Teme... Fucking bitch! Let her off NOW!" he started to panic when Kagome aimed steadily and shot, the arrow heading at lightning speed for his heart.

oooooooooo

Just when he thought he was too stunned to move, Inuyasha regained his senses and jumped out of the arrow's direct path. It ended up striking his left arm, leaving a long bloody gash in its wake.

He howled in pain, now realizing how her arrows could have killed youkai so easily. Her weapon glowed with a strange sort of force, like she had some kind of immeasurable youki confined within her arrows.

He landed on the ground on his right side. He twisted up and stood just in time to miss the newly fired arrow. Kagome was smirking slightly and Inuyasha was confused.

"Is she really under a spell?' he asked himself. He couldn't hurt her if she was. But if she wasn't... he refused to think about it.

Kagura smirked as she watched Kagome fire at the eternally dodging hanyou. 'Good girl, Kagome-chan,' she thought amusedly. Who could ask for a better slave? Kagome was not only a lovely mistress of seduction; she was also a skilled fighter.

Kagome bent to pick up another arrow to fire at Inuyasha when she stopped and stood stiffly. Kanna was looking as panicked as a poker-faced youkai could ever get, and she was calling for Kagura.

"Kagura," she called. "Something's wrong..."

Kagura stared at her sister. Could it be that Kagome was telling them to back off AND succeeding in it? She was fighting the spell?

Before Kagura could think of the next step, Kagome's eyes flashed angrily as she pulled her arrow out of her quiver and aimed for her.

"Ka- Kagura... onna... you have no right t- to tell me- what to do!" she stuttered out, heaving breaths between her words. "I have my o-own m-m- mind! I'm more skilled than you think, and I don't need y-your 'help'! BACK OFF!" she cried, releasing the tightly strung arrow.

Inuyasha was stunned. 'What is she talking about? Does this mean that she really IS with Naraku? Gods... no..."

He watched as the smoky band around Kagome disappeared and the color of her eyes went back to normal. She slumped to the ground as the arrow whizzed past Kagura. Kagome's aim seemed a little off.

While Kagura was recovering from the shock of nearly being killed by a human's arrow, Inuyasha wasted no time in recovering his Tetsusaiga. He ran off to where Kagome had laid it earlier. It had been beside Kagura, but since she had jumped away, the sword lay unguarded between some rocks.

"Inuyasha... get her now!" Kagome suddenly shouted. He was confused, but he would not pass up an opportunity to kill Kagura and that freaky white youkai. He would interrogate Kagome later.

He ran towards the two youkai and took a fully transformed Tetsusaiga out of its case, taking a mad swing at Kagura and Kanna. Unfortunately, Kagura was fast, and he ended up once again slicing air as Kagura flew up into the air with Kanna on another one of her giant feathers.

"Chikuso!" he swore, clutching his bleeding left arm as he watched the retreating figures.

Inuyasha held his still transformed sword as he walked slowly towards Kagome. She kneeled on the ground, gasping for breath. He didn't know what had just happened, and he placed Tetsusaiga back in its scabbard as he approached her.

She looked exhausted, and she glowed faintly from the exertion. He hated to think that she would betray him. He had grown very fond of her and Kagome had been a lot of help to him. But if she truly was with Naraku...

Tough. He couldn't kill her if he wanted to.

"I- I understand if you kill me right here and now. I know you probably hate me," she said so softly, he almost didn't hear her. "I- betrayed you... I'm so sorry!"

Inuyasha's heart stopped. 'Masaka! No! So she really did betray me!'

"I fell under Kagura's spell so quickly. She took one swig at my soul and she captured it with ease. After I had promised to be strong for you... Gomen nasai!" she continued.

His heart suddenly glowed with hope. "So, you don't work for Kagura?" he asked.

Kagome kept her eyes on the ground. "No, of course not. I hate her and Naraku. I would never work for her! But I still betrayed you. She controlled me so easily..."

She looked up and stared at Inuyasha, her gaze lingering on the wound her own arrow had created. "I wounded you. I took your sword under her command and I fought you. You would have died!" Kagome said in anguish as tears formed in her eyes. "And the worst is that I could see what I was doing. My body was acting on its own and I could do nothing to stop it!"

Inuyasha stepped towards her as her tears fell. He knelt down before her and touched her cheek softly, coaxing her to look back at him again.

She pushed his hand away for a moment, fighting the small force he used to pull her face towards his. She conceded after a while and Inuyasha made her look straight in his eyes.

"Kagome," he began. "Tell me. You didn't want to do those things, did you?" She shook her head. "Then there's nothing to be guilty about. I don't hate you. And this," he pointed to his wound. "It'll heal. No problem. I won't kill you. And you're not weak! You fought that controlling spell and shot Kagura! You're a strong onna!"

Kagome looked uncertain, but as she looked deeper into his eyes, she felt her heart melting. He said he didn't blame her and he was true to his word. She closed her eyes against the fresh bout of tears and unconsciously nuzzled his palm. His hand felt comforting against her sweat and tear dampened cheek, and some of her pain seemed to fade at his tender words.

"It's ok, Kagome. I... I'm not mad."

Had Kagome opened her eyes, she would have seen the brilliant scarlet that covered Inuyasha's cheeks as she leaned into his touch, and when she covered his hand with her smaller one, the blush darkened visibly.

Inuyasha fought to compose himself. She was making him blush and sweat at her tiny, innocent actions. He had barely controlled his reddened cheeks when she opened her dazzling eyes, now so full of life. She smiled at him and he melted.

'Am I mad at her! HELL NO!'

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I- I still find it hard to believe that you don't hate me... demo, I'm glad. Arigatou," she said seriously.

"It's nothing. Now... shall we go back to sleep?" Inuyasha said with a tiny smile.

He stood up and began to tug her up with him. His arm stung like hell actually, but he tried to not let it show to keep Kagome from getting all upset and guilty again.

Kagome stood and the pair started to walk back to the inn. Then something occurred to Inuyasha. He frowned thoughtfully and was about to ask when Kagome beat him to it.

"It's a good thing no one from the inn awoke during all the action, right Inuyasha? It would have been hard to explain about what happened to the 'baby'," she said jokingly.

They looked at each other and began to laugh softly as they sneaked back into the inn.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha awoke to his fourth day in Crystallia with a smirk as he peered at his bandaged arm. It was healed, as he predicted, but Kagome had endlessly begged him to let her bandage his arm the night before that, though he knew it was futile, he had let her do so.

He got up from his place on the floor and looked up on the bed. Kagome was still sleeping peacefully, her head turned in his direction, a hand absently reaching down to him.

Her lips were slightly parted and her brows were relaxed. Inuyasha thought she looked like an angel. He slowly got up and picked his haori up from the floor. It wasn't much of a garment, but it sure made a hell of a pillow! Not to mention, it was a good armor.

He took his self-filling flask out of his haori and drank. It filled itself up, the way his haori fixed itself up after every fight. 'This place is just full of surprises,' he thought.

He looked back at Kagome then stilled as he felt and heard his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten yet, and though dinner had been brought to them the night before, right before they slept, his stomach felt completely ignored.

He heard a soft giggle come from somewhere near and he turned to see Kagome stifling a laugh. She was groggily looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"Ohayou, Inuyasha," she said softly.

"Ohayou," he replied. "I guess you heard my stomach's physical agitation."

"Yeah," she said. "I didn't realize you were that hungry."

She got up and took the haori from his arms. Then, she picked up the pillow she used as her 'baby' and turned to him.

"I'll go get us some food. Maybe there's something in here," she said with a shy grin.

"Yeah. I might freak the humans out if I went down there."

Kagome came back a few minutes later with stew, slices of pork, two apples and some milk. The food was good, but Inuyasha can't help but wish that it were Kagome's veggie stew that was on the table.

oooooooooo

Kagome seemed to have woken up from the wrong side of the bed.

Inuyasha absently guessed that it was PMS. It all added up: the sudden mood swing, the pain in her stomach that she kept complaining about, and the thing that got HIM into a bad mood as well - the sudden change in her scent.

While it was true that Kagome always smelled refreshingly wondrous, Inuyasha couldn't deny the fact that her scent had gotten even more alluring. He mentally cursed the gods for his luck. The only woman he had ever been attracted to for god knows how long was in heat.

It had been five days since Inuyasha and Kagome had last gone into battle. The wound Kagome had given him that night was now more than completely healed. That would have been great, except for one thing: that had also been the last time they had slept on a bed in an inn. The last few nights had been spent in either a cave or a secluded dry meadow.

This was day number nine for our good old hanyou. He spoke to Miroku once every day to tell him and Sango of their progress. Kagome still refused to let the palace people know about her. They had gotten a good length nearer to the Garnet tower but he still felt like they were making no progress.

Apparently, so did Kagome.

"Shit!" Kagome swore rather loudly after tripping on a small stone. Inuyasha was a bit surprised, but she WAS in a bad mood. It was excusable. "I hate rocks!"

"You said that a couple of minutes ago. You also said that you hate dry trees, cloudy skies, soil, sand, dead plants..."

"Urusai," Kagome interrupted Inuyasha's tirade. "I get the point."

"Well, don't take your anger out on me!" Inuyasha snapped. "Keh! It's not my fucking fault that you seem to be having your PMS right now!" He was beyond irritated. 'Stupid god damn scent!'

"WHAT is PMS!" Kagome replied hotly.

"When you have a really bad mood for a female reason!" Inuyasha shouted back, furiously fighting the urge to cover his nose to keep out the tempting scent.

"That does NOT make any sense!" Kagome yelled back. She took a few deep breaths and tried to control herself before speaking again. "Alright, so I'm not in the best of moods..."

"Damn right," he commented. "What's your problem?"

"I... it's just that... I can't help but feel like we're not getting anything accomplished. Then there's this irritating feeling that I have... like we're being watched or something..." she said.

Inuyasha perked up at that. He tried to sniff his surroundings. 'Nothing.'

"Well, cool it! Nothing's wrong. Don't tell me that the lack of battles is boring you!"

"No, of course not," Kagome said reluctantly.

oooooooooo

Naraku grinned at the mirror that Kanna held before him. The couple kept walking and it was nearly time to pull off his plan. 'The enchantress is doing a very good job,' he thought.

He waved the youkai off as he turned and quickly walked to the princess' prison.

The dome was pulsing with a glow that burned red when his presence was felt in the chamber. 'Hatred,' he thought to himself as he settled on a cushion he had placed before the dome.

"Lady Azalea," he began, his long black hair glinting in the bright red light. He seemed to see the princess' silhouette shift at his words. "Have you considered my offer?"

The light just burned angrily. He could sense her alluring presence in the dome. Her powerful, alluring presence that gave him his forbidden attraction for the princess.

"It is not really that hard to think of. Agreeing to my wish would save your kingdom, as well as give you the life that any ordinary lady would wish. Just say the word," he said with a small grin. The princess remained silent.

"Do you know what I went through to gain the garnet tower's hidden power? I did all this just so I could touch you and gain what I wanted so desperately."

Silence.

Naraku began to laugh. "Are you waiting for your knight to come and save you? Well, that is far-fetched my dear lady. I doubt that he would get past me. And besides, he is being skillfully sidetracked. Did you know that?"

More silence, but this time, the dome turned a nearly blinding shade of red. Naraku took a step back and smirked.

"Why don't you just accept the fact that you have no other choice, Azalea? Accept my offer. Think about it. After all, I can touch you. It would not be too hard to consider."

He left as the light from the dome became too hot to bear.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha was still mad about her scent. It was sending his thoughts and feelings to another dimension! After all, there was only so much that a MALE hanyou could take.

It was a hot afternoon. Ah! What he wouldn't give for a nice, cool bath. No, make that a nice, ICY COLD bath. The last time he had taken a bath was the night before he left his world, which was more than a week ago. And as far as he knew, it was the same with Kagome.

Crystallia had no water holes, no rivers, nothing. When they stayed in the inn, a bath was impossible if they didn't want to be thrown out.

His nose desperately sniffed at himself. He didn't stink yet - well, at least not too much. 'The lack of baths could be annoying Kagome as well,' he thought with a smirk. He knew how pressy women were about hygiene.

He sniffed the air absently and nearly fainted from frustration. 'A week without baths and she still smells incredible. Even more with that fucking scent! Why couldn't our situation have just lessened her good scent! She smells as if she just had a luxury bath!' he silently fumed.

Kagome was still marching behind him. Her bag was slung over her shoulder, and if he didn't know better, he'd think she was dying from a heatstroke. She looked dry and exhausted, but her scent said otherwise.

While Inuyasha was lost in his thoughts, Kagome's mind also wandered about. "I need a bath. Now,' she thought angrily. 'If the shikon was in order, it wouldn't be too hard to get a bath. If the princess was not taken, the lakes and rivers would still be around.' She raged mentally. "Wait... if she wasn't taken, I wouldn't have had to travel around in the first place! But then again...' she glanced momentarily at the man walking ahead of her. 'Maybe it IS a good thing that this happened,' she giggled rebelliously against her angry thoughts.

She was beautiful, and knew it. But no man had ever paid heed to her because of her unique abilities. Ever. Not even before... well, before everything started.

Inuyasha was different. He didn't push her away with fright. He protected her. He was rough, but really nice. It also didn't hurt that he was quite gorgeous, even with the doggy ears.

Only Inuyasha seemed to realize that she was female. He cared, and even if it was only because he needed her help with the quest, she didn't care. At least he was there.

She shook her head against her thoughts. 'Baka,' she scolded herself mentally. 'Don't get too attached to him! He's gonna leave in less than six weeks. Besides, he's the KNIGHT. And you...' she cut her thoughts off as she bumped into Inuyasha. "Watch it doggy!"

"Shh..." he said blankly. He seemed to be listening around carefully, sniffing the air as he did. He looked pensive and Kagome was concerned.

"What's wrong? Youkai?" she asked, instinctively clutching her bow. He shook his head and looked at her with bright eyes.

"Water!" he declared. She just stared at him. "Baka! Don't you get it! There's water around here! I could smell it! And I could hear it running lightly."

"You mean there's a lake or a river here?" she asked excitedly.

Inuyasha nodded, then pointed off somewhere a bit to their right. Kagome took off.

oooooooooo

"Houshi-sama, are you alright!"

Sango rushed to Miroku as she saw him slump to the ground, clutching his right hand, his face contorted in pain. He was silent, but clearly, something was wrong.

"Sango," he said as he looked at her. She was surprised. He never called her by her name alone! She knelt beside him and asked again. "Daijobu?"

"Hai, daijobu." He said with a tiny smile. Sango would have believed him if she hadn't seen what had happened. They were in the draught-stricken palace garden. Sango had excused herself to get a drink, and when she came back, he was falling to the ground.

"Houshi," she warned. He gave up.

"The Kazaana," he replied as he sat up. "I had opened up the seal to see how it was. It still does it, Sango-sama. Look," he motioned around, and Sango noticed for the first time that the large rocks around the flowerbed were all gone.

"The Kazaana sucked them all up..." Sango said, astonished. The Kazaana truly WAS getting larger! 'By the gods, this is bad!' she thought.

"I'm supposing that this could suck in a whole civilization by now," Miroku said jokingly to ease the tension, but Sango just looked horrified.

"How could you joke about this? You might get sucked in! Besides, you get terribly hurt whenever you use your Kazaana!" she exclaimed hotly.

"I'm not joking. But I've been thinking... the Kazaana could probably be used as a weapon now. You know what I mean?" Miroku said.

"You mean..."

"We could help Inuyasha-sama in some way. Maybe even travel with him!"

Sango perked up. "That's wonderful! Even without our spiritual powers, we could be of help! You can use the Kazaana and I could use my Hiraikotsu..." she began enthusiastically but Miroku cut her off.

"Hiraikotsu? You mean that large, horrid, heavy bone-made boomerang that you used when you still worked as a taijiya?" Miroku said, crinkling his nose.

"Well, yes! I used it before coming to the palace, when I was still a demon exterminator. I haven't used it for a long time, but I'd bet I could still use it well! After all, I've been a taijiya since I was four. I was an exterminator for seven years! That's one year more than I've been here in crystal castle!" she said excitedly.

"Well, if you think so. But you should practice before we leave the palace. I could take my monk's staff," Miroku said, "I haven't stopped using the shakujou since I was brought here."

'I know,' Sango thought. 'I watch you practice every night, Miroku.' She could never bring herself to call him by his name, but in her mind, she undoubtedly could. She blushed as she remembered cold nights when she sat, hardly breathing in fear of being caught, behind one of the large stones that the Kazaana had just sucked in, spying on the houshi as he practiced fighting moves.

"Sango, were you listening to me?"

"Oh," Sango blushed more darkly when she realized that in her reminiscing, she had totally missed what he said. "Gomen. I was imagining things..."

"I know you're enthusiastic, Sango-sama, but like I said, we have more than enough time to practice our skills before we head out." Miroku said, his eyes twinkling.

"Nani? Why do you say that, houshi-sama?"

"Well, for one, Inuyasha told me he hadn't gone too far. Secondly, the second barrier protecting the palace and its inhabitants has sealed up. It won't let anything through, may it be from the outside or from the inside..." Miroku explained with a grim smile.

"Nani! Demo... how could we help if we can't even get out?" Sango said incredulously.

"It's simple. I bet that this is the princess' doing. She must have put it on before she left. I'm guessing that she put it there so that we would be better protected once the knight leaves." Miroku said, then, "It could also be from Naraku, so we couldn't help Inuyasha out. But I have the kekai figured out. I've put a spell on it so that it would weaken and in a few days, three weeks at most, and we could get out of here and get to Inuyasha!"

"Three weeks? That's so long!"

"But it's enough time to practice our skills so we would not be a burden."

Sango considered, then nodded. "I guess that would be great. We could catch up easily if we ride Kirara..."

"Kirara's feeling better after the attack, isn't she?" Miroku asked, while his hand was slowly inching towards Sango's bottom once again. The giant two-tailed fire-cat Kirara, that was Sango's pet, had been wounded heavily in the battle with Naraku. She had been recuperating for the last few weeks.

Sango was delighted. "Oh yes! She can actually walk on three of her legs by now! She still has a little trouble transforming though, and..."

SLAP!

"Hentai!"

oooooooooo

"Yahoooo! Water!" Kagome shrieked as she spotted the small lake. She ran to the rocky side of the water and ducked behind one of the good boulders.

"Hey, Kagome! Wait up! Where in the seven hells are you, wench?" Inuyasha bellowed when Kagome ran off.

"No, wait, STOP! Don't come any closer, Inuyasha! I'm gonna take a bath." Kagome said as he heard a rustle of soft fabric. It meant only one thing: Kagome was stripping.

"You mean you're gonna get all naked, here!" Inuyasha shouted. He didn't want to admit it, but the thought of Kagome naked and within reach was just too tempting.

"Yeah, so what? And don't even think of peeping, Inuyasha!" she yelled as she jumped into the water.

"Keh! Like I'd want to see your skinny body!" he snapped back, irritated. He of course knew that he was fooling himself. He heard her swear softly at the freezing cold water and he had to bite back a laugh. "Cold?" he asked with a grin, finding a spot on the ground a few meters from the lake and sitting there with his legs crossed. He could hear her splashing the water around from her spot in the water, hidden from him by a couple of huge rocks.

"As a m-matter of f-fa-fact, it is, Inuya-yasha!" she said through chattering teeth.

"But it's the middle of the day! How cold could water get!" Inuyasha asked.

"May-b-be you should try it, Inuyasha! It's reeeally c-cold, but I'd bet y- you could handle it! Besides, you need it!" she replied.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" he shouted as his heart started to beat faster. 'Did she just ask me to bathe... with her?'

"I'm not saying that you stink, Inuyasha," she began. She seemed to be getting over the cold. "I'm saying that it's hot and this would cool you off. Besides, this lake is divided by a large rock. That way, we wouldn't have to see each other as we bathe, even if we do it at the same time! Come on Inuyasha, please!"

"Alright! Stupid wench," he groused as he got up. "I want a bath anyway."

"Must you insist on calling me wench, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah I do, now shut up already," he called back. He began to undress by the lake and hoped that he was entering the right side of the lake.

Man, was he lucky. Kagome was on the other side, and it disturbed him to think that he and Kagome were bathing in the same body of water.

He could hear her happily splashing about in the water. She was humming softly, the same sound that he awoke to after that battle with Kagura some days ago.

She was still singing and Inuyasha could only take too much. The water had cleared her scent up even more, making it more fragrant and potent than ever before. He could clearly see her curves in his mind's eye, the self- same alluring waves that he could see clearly through her dress, and he began to wonder how they would look without its covers...

'IIE! I would not sink that low! I would not peep! I would not LOOK! I am a decent man!' Inuyasha mentally chanted even as he felt himself slowly nearing the edge of the dividing rock. 'Hey, I'm only human... kinda...' he thought as he gave in, leaning over and becoming the peeping tom that he swore he wouldn't be.

oooooooooo

A/N: This is the revised version of chapter 6. Please read and review. Thank you for your time.

ScarletRaven1001


	7. The Prince of Wolves

AN: Hello minna! Sorry for taking so long. I've been busy. Anyway, here's the next chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own it. OK?!!!!  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
The Prince of Wolves  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Please, forgive me, Naraku-sama! It will not happen again, I swear it! I will do everything I can! I will not fail you again! Please, forgive me!" Kagura cried in agony as the chains that bound her to one of the garnet tower's highest pillars tightened around her neck and upper body. Her sister Kanna was in the same agony a few feet away as Naraku summoned all the elements he could call on to punish his minions. Failure, to him, was a heinous crime.  
  
Naraku just snorted. "Do you not remember yourself saying the self- same things about a week ago? I gave you another chance, but look! Inuyasha still lives!" he yelled as he struck with a lightning-made whip.  
  
Kagura screamed in pain as the whip lashed at her. Kanna withheld her screams well, but the torrent of tears on her cheeks was testament to the pain she felt.  
  
It had been five days since the last encounter with the knight. Naraku had been angered, but not enough to punish them. This morning however, he emerged from the princess' prison with a scowl on his face and turned on them, claiming that they needed to be punished for their failure. Kagura just guessed that the lady had turned him down again or said something harsh enough to enrage Naraku. But she got the gist of it.  
  
She knew of her master's secret. He had known and wanted the princess since before she was seated on the throne and had done everything he could to please her, but she, of course, could never and would never take notice of him.  
  
Besides, even if she did take notice of him, it would be useless since he could not touch her. No one could, and that could probably be the reason behind why Crystallia's princesses never married.  
  
So, he took off to gain powers strong enough to hold the princess. He trained to control the forbidden powers in the garnet tower, melded with powerful youkai, created her and Kanna and captured the princess in the hopes that she would agree to go with him once he was powerful enough.  
  
Yet the princess remained loyal to her task. He had thought that she would jump at the chance of living a normal life with a man who could love and hold her, but he thought wrong. She had simply struggled and told him that she would not be swayed from her duties. Especially not by a man who was hungry for power.  
  
Now here he was, beating the life out of both of his 'offsprings', taking his frustrations out on their abused bodies. Certainly, both were powerful, but pain would still be pain, youkai or not. Kagura just closed her eyes in pain while she listened to her sister's steady sobs.  
  
She had to think of something, fast. She had to make a foolproof plan of getting rid of Inuyasha, before Naraku got rid of HER.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha walked grumpily ahead of Kagome, who was happily untangling her hair with a stolen comb. She seemed a great deal jollier now that she had taken a bath. Inuyasha, however, was feeling as glum as ever.  
  
Inuyasha had nearly given in to the strong male temptation to peep when they were in the springs, but his pride had won and he stopped what he was doing just as he neared the dividing rock and caught a glimpse of her smooth right arm.  
  
All he got that day was a whiff of her now enhanced fragrance and a throbbing headache.  
  
'Gods, I am SO blessed,' he thought sarcastically as the wind blew through her hair and sent more of her scent to waft through his nostrils. He mentally kicked himself for the thoughts that suddenly passed his heat- scent-affected mind.  
  
'Why couldn't the god forsaken moon disappear at a time like this?' he thought angrily. Just when he really needed to lose his more than average senses, here they were, raging at him in full blast. He muttered out a string of colorful curses that would make a gangster blush.  
  
He turned slightly to check on Kagome. He had to make conversation. If he didn't, he would go absolutely nuts.  
  
"So, Kagome. How old are you?" he asked casually, pausing in his strides for Kagome.  
  
"Hm?" Kagome replied absent-mindedly. She caught up to him when he paused so they were now side by side. "I just turned sixteen. Doushite?"  
  
"Nanimo... Nothing. I was just curious." He answered.  
  
'Curious?! How lame could you get?!' Inuyasha berated himself as he thought of his reply.  
  
'Inuyasha is curious? That's new.' Kagome thought in confusion. 'Maybe he's just trying to make conversation,' she thought.  
  
"Well, I'm sixteen. You?" she asked conversationally.  
  
"Sixteen. I should be turning seventeen in a month though. But since time stopped in my time, I guess I should wait till I get back home before I start the countdown," he answered, staring straight ahead. When Kagome didn't say anything, he looked down at her, only to find her solemnly staring at the ground.  
  
"Oi! Nani o? What's wrong?" he asked as she continued to look down.  
  
Kagome took her time before answering carefully. "Nothing. Well... something. But I can't tell you. It's... weird," she replied glumly.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. 'Nani?' His confusion was evident on his face.  
  
"Promise not to laugh?" Kagome asked.  
  
"Keh, sure. Now, what's wrong?"  
  
"Well... when you mentioned your 'home', I just... well, it kinda occurred to me that after this is over you'll have to go home and I'll never see you again..." Kagome trailed off. He could smell her distress, and as he mulled over her words, he started getting depressed too.  
  
"Yeah, well," he started. "We can't really prevent that, can we? It's what's gonna happen. It's what's GOTTA happen. But at least we still have six weeks here! And why are you all upset about that?"  
  
"I dunno... maybe because you're the only person I've ever traveled with and I'm gonna miss you for sure." She replied.  
  
Inuyasha was surprised. "You are?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Of course I will!" she said. "I dunno why. Maybe it's girl thing. I meet someone and I cry when he has to leave. It really sucks."  
  
"Of course it doesn't suck," he replied. "I'm not a girl but... I'm gonna miss you too, once I get back to my land. I mean, you're the only person I..."  
  
He was cut off when a sudden, shrill shriek pierced his sensitive hanyou ears. The outburst was followed by many other screams of terror that all came from beyond the next hill.  
  
"Inuyasha? Nani? Do you sense something?" Kagome asked when she noticed his sudden agitation. He was staring off into the short distance and was wearing something akin to a scowl on his face.  
  
"Youkai! I knew I smelled something strange in this place..." he hissed before he bent down and turned to Kagome. "Climb on my back, quick!"  
  
"NANI?!"  
  
"Just do it, now!"  
  
Kagome gingerly began to climb on his back. Inuyasha used his hands to grasp her thighs, right behind her knees, to keep her seated securely. Kagome shrieked and grabbed his shoulders for dear life when Inuyasha suddenly took off at high speed, practically making her dizzy with the way he was jumping around to get to his destination.  
  
They were practically flying with the way he took off. Inuyasha grinned to himself when he felt her grip on his shoulders tighten. The wind on his face felt great, but he should slow down a bit for her... Nah! Besides, those screams meant only one thing: he needed to hurry if he was to find anybody left alive.  
  
He was startled when Kagome laughed aloud, craned her neck to look at his face and grinned.  
  
"This is fun! If we weren't on our way to kill youkai I'd tell you to keep running!" she exclaimed gleefully.  
  
"You like it? Then we'll do this more often," he shouted back. He used to run like this back at home, whenever he was dreadfully late of school and was a bid away from detention. He always got in detention anyway, but back home it wasn't remotely as fun as it felt this time, running with a hysterically gleeful Kagome on his back.  
  
But the ride was not to last. When he got around the hill, the chaos was incredible. People whom he guessed to be the entire town lay bloody and dead on the ground all over the town. Kagome gave a shocked, choked gasp.  
  
"This is horrible," she whispered sadly upon finding a dead mother with her child lying in a bloody heap near a hut. "Who could have done this?!"  
  
"Wakaranai. I don't know. But the scent of youkai is clear. Youkai did this," he said angrily when he glanced at a couple who lay dead with their hands still clasped.  
  
"Violent youkai. They... they DEVOURED the people pf the town!" Kagome said as angry tears filled her eyes.  
  
Inuyasha sniffed around as he caught the scent, much sharper this time. "Canine youkai did this, Kagome. I'm positive."  
  
"It can't be fox youkai. Kitsunes are kind by nature. Dogs?" Kagome queried carefully.  
  
"Iie," he replied. "Inu youkai don't usually feed on humans. I think it's wolves."  
  
"Ookami da? But..." Kagome started, but was cut off when they heard growling. They turned to the direction of the growling and their eyes widened when they found a pack of wolves standing a few feet away from them.  
  
"Hai. Ookami," Inuyasha said as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga and pointed it in the direction of the coming creatures. "They ain't ordinary wolves. They're youkai. I can smell it."  
  
The greedy creatures rushed them in the next instant and Inuyasha's eyes flashed furiously. "This is for slaughtering an entire village!" he shouted angrily as he raised Tetsusaiga.  
  
Kagome was apparently thinking along the same lines as she drew an arrow and aimed it at the nearest youkai. She fired her purifying arrow with an angry shout as Inuyasha brought his weapon down on two wolves at the same time.  
  
One of the wolves lunged at him and bit down on his shoulder. He angrily punched it and sliced it in half when it fell to the floor. He glanced at Kagome out of the corner of his eye and noting that she was doing rather well since she was in long range combat, he turned back to the disgusting wolves and decked three with a single swing of his sword.  
  
Kagome was doing fine, but was having a hard time keeping the wolves within shooting range. It was a problem if they were too far, and it was another thing when they came too near. One wolf tried to bite her leg and she avoided it narrowly, its fangs just brushing her ankle enough to leave a stinging bruise. She didn't bother with the bow on that certain wolf. She drew an arrow and stabbed him with the sharp tip.  
  
Inuyasha smirked as he struck another wolf down and was remotely puzzled when they ran off and howled loudly. He and Kagome looked on as a tall youkai appeared in a strong blue torrent of wind.  
  
The youkai was tall, probably taller than Inuyasha. He had queer blue eyes and his long black hair was tied in a thick, high ponytail. He was wearing robes that seemed to have been made of an animal's pelt.  
  
His strange eyes narrowed in fury as he surveyed the scene of dead wolves around him.  
  
His eyes focused on Inuyasha and his sword. "Teme..." he cursed Inuyasha. "You killed my pets, you fucking bastard!"  
  
"Well, duh," Inuyasha retorted. "We wouldn't have done that if the wolves hadn't attacked us and slaughtered these people!"  
  
"Do you expect my pets to go hungry? I had to give them food, you know." The wolf replied cockily. He turned his sharp gaze and regarded Kagome, obviously liking what he saw.  
  
Inuyasha shouted abruptly, sending his glare back at the hanyou. "So you let them eat these people?! You're fucking crazy!"  
  
"Shut up, hanyou," he snapped. Inuyasha looked surprised. "Surprised? I could smell the human in you along with the disgusting dog scent you carry. You make me sick."  
  
Inuyasha fumed. The damn yarou dared to insult him? He'll show him...  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, your scent stinks so badly, it makes me want to puke!" Inuyasha raged.  
  
Kagome looked on as the two dog youkai snarled and insulted each other's scents. 'It must be a dog thing,' she thought absently.  
  
Inuyasha's dirty mouth worked wonders in situations like these. Soon, the wolf youkai was so angry, Kagome could swear she saw smoke coming out of his ears.  
  
"How dare you insult me!" the wolf yelled as he seemed to lose his patience in the name calling. "Do you even know who I am? I am Kouga, the prince of the wolf youkai tribe!"  
  
"Well, I'm Inuyasha, descendant of the youkai lords of the west, owner of seven five star hotels and son of the late business tycoon Inutaisho! Beat that!"  
  
"What the hell was that?" Kouga snarled.  
  
"See!? You ookami are so dumb, you can't even understand common speech!" Inuyasha answered with a carnivorous smirk. "Should I repeat what I said? Slower this time?"  
  
Kouga snarled loudly and jumped down to attack Inuyasha. Inuyasha just jumped back and raised Tetsusaiga to try to strike the wolf. Kouga jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attack.  
  
Inuyasha snarled a curse at the offending wolf and tried again. 'God damn fucking wolf's pretty fast,' he thought as Kouga once again dodged an attack. Kouga was not just good at dodging. He was a pretty quick puncher as well. He nearly got Inuyasha more than twice already.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha could see that the other wolf youkai were coming near Kagome. He cursed the skies once again as the wolf nearest Kagome started to attack, and his attention lapsed when he spied Kagome out of the corner of his eye.  
  
'I swear, those wolves are going DOWN if they harm her,' he thought insanely.  
  
Kouga noticed his opponent's distraction and stopped attacking to turn to what his own opponent was looking at. What he saw made his heart stop.  
  
The hanyou's companion was aiming an energized arrow at one of his pets. He looked around and noticed for the first time that some of his minions seemed to have been killed by arrows.  
  
He spared a second glance at the girl and noticed for the first time how lovely the archer was. Black hair. Gray/blue eyes. Long, shapely legs. And powerful, needless to say. 'The perfect mate,' he thought amusedly as one of his pets fell by her powerful arrows.  
  
Kouga was so caught up in watching her that he barely registered that Inuyasha had started attacking him. Inuyasha noticed the look that the wolf was giving Kagome, and he did not like it one bit.  
  
Kouga abruptly jumped up and away from Inuyasha, landing a foot behind Kagome. He looked at his pets meaningfully. The wolves stopped attacking Kagome as soon as Kouga landed behind her. Before she could turn to him, Kouga grabbed her around the waist, lifted her from the ground and shouted.  
  
"I'll take your friend, Inu-kuro!"  
  
Kouga took off before Inuyasha could make a move. He was shocked to say the least. The bastard just took HIS companion from him! "Kouga!!!!" he shouted as Kouga and his pets disappeared in a blue hurricane.  
  
Inuyasha hurried to try and catch up with the rapidly retreating wolf pack, but damn, they were quick. He stopped to catch his breath, realizing that he couldn't catch up with them.  
  
"Chikuso!" he swore to the skies. The guy just sent his wolves to a town to have them eat the people, and now he has Kagome! If he dared to touch a single hair on her head, he would kill the wolf slowly.  
  
He sniffed around, trying to find the disgusting scent that the wolves left behind them and the wonderful scent of Kagome that was mixed along with it.  
  
'Well fuck me to oblivion!' he thought as he remembered her scent. The scent of her heat was still strong. What if Kouga tried to rape her!?  
  
'He wouldn't dare!' he thought anxiously as he searched for the trail. 'Besides, Kagome is strong. She wouldn't let him touch her,' he tried to assure himself. But his nagging brain had other plans.  
  
'Oh yeah? Have you forgotten that's she's only good in long-range combat? And what if she runs out of arrows?'  
  
"Urursai!" Inuyasha snapped at his inner voice out loud. He caught the scent and took off in the direction and sprinted as quickly as he could.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Put me DOWN!" Kagome screeched at Kouga. She HATED being carried like that! She felt like an animal slung over someone's arm. "I said, PUT ME DOWN, YOU BAKAYAROU!"  
  
Kouga put her down so abruptly that she was surprised. She had been yelling at him for quite some time now and he never once budged. It was unnerving. When she looked around, though, she realized why he had set her down.  
  
"Dammit! Where did you bring me, you... you..." Kagome yelled.  
  
"Relax, my queen. You're safe." Kouga replied, and Kagome just seethed.  
  
"NANI?! What do you mean, your QUEEN?! I want you to bring me back to Inuyasha, ima sugu ni!!!" Kagome shouted. Man, all this shouting was making her throat itch!  
  
"I'm afraid, I can't do that. You see, I have chosen YOU to be my mate." Kouga said with a smile. Kagome's veins practically popped. "Nani?! What are you talking about?" she barked.  
  
"You will understand in time. Guards!" Kouga said.  
  
Three wolf youkai with clothes of the same type as Kouga's came up to them. Kouga looked at them squarely and growled an order.  
  
"Watch her with your life. If she gets hurt, I will inflict ten times as much pain on you. Understand?" Kouga said then turned to leave, saying that he had something to take care of.  
  
'Shimatta,' Kagome thought. 'Inuyasha must be worried. I hope he's ok.'  
  
Kagome thought back to the hanyou's reaction when she had been taken, He looked so worried.  
  
"Please be ok, Inuyasha..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: I am such a baka.  
  
An email reviewer, Donna, just reminded me that I had neglected to write down the English translations of the Japanese words that I included in this fic. *Bangs her head on the computer table.* Baaaaakaaaaa! I'm so stupid. Baka, baka, baka!  
  
Donna said she felt lost in some instances, coz she couldn't figure out what I wrote, so here they are. Gomen nasai, Donna!  
  
Youkai-demon; hanyou-half demon; inu-dog; kitsune-fox; ookami-wolf; hai- yes; iie-no; dame-don't; yamero-stop; oi-hey; arigatou-thank you; douitashimashitte-you're welcome; gomen-sorry; nani-what; doushite-why; nanimo-nothing; daijobu?-are you ok?; daijobu-I'm ok; ima sugu ni-right now; urusai-shut up/noisy; wakaranai-I don't know; chikuso-shit; shimatta- damn; baka-idiot; yarou-bastard/bitch; teme-you (negative); hentai-pervert; houshi-priest; taijiya-demon exterminator; onna-woman; kekai-barrier; yume- dream  
  
Did I get everything? I'm sorry about that, people.  
  
Again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing, all of you. It's funny to think that I get more email reviews than the reviews that register on ff.net. But I'm VERY grateful.  
  
And about the email reviews... would you believe I got 10?! Wow! I'm so happy about that. Most of them weren't registered on ff.net, so they just emailed. And besides, they didn't want people to know what their response is to the last question I left in chap 6. Yup. They want the lemon. So, I guess I'll write one. The lemon won't really come till much later. Maybe chap 12 or something. To those who don't want the lemon, don't worry, I'll still make the improvisation that I spoke of, so you won't have to read the lemon and feel squeamish just to understand the story.  
  
My boyfriend is pretty happy about the outcome of my little 'poll' *Sees boyfriend doing the happy dance, turns to him and shouts* Stop it EJ! We both know that you have two left feet.  
  
Sorry if I can't reply to your emails. I have no damn time! I hope you don't mind! I'll try next chapter.  
  
And to those that said sorry for just reading and not reviewing my earlier chaps, don't sweat it! I'm not mad. Just review from now on, ok?  
  
Review Responses:  
  
liLmissy^^: Yeah, I'm a Philippine citizen. Are you? Just asking. Anyway, I think what you wrote IS a review. I'm glad you like my fic. Thanks for the review!  
  
Cleolette:I promise to reveal more about Kagome and Azalea in the next chap. Azalea is an OC (but you probably know that ^_^). Thanks for the review!  
  
Drow Goddess: Here's the chap! Thanks for the review!  
  
Laura-chan: Yup, specially since so many people emailed me to ask for one.  
  
Email Reviews:  
  
Edwin: EJ, I told you already! NO, dammit! And get over it hun!  
  
Larence: Don't worry, I won't have you arrested. ^_^  
  
Marge: You know, I have a close friend with the same name as you. So... you mean you only emailed me to tell you whether you want a lemon or not? Anyway. Thanks for the review!  
  
Kara: Yeah, I know. We should start a club together. How about 'Kikyo Haters Inc?' Does that sound ok? Viva Inuyasha and Kagome! Thanks for the review!  
  
Feonalee: I think Sesshoumaru is pretty hot as well, but I like Inuyasha better (what I wouldn't give to see him naked *drools*)! I just dig dog ears, I guess. About your question, Fluffy will be appearing here, but sad to say that it would be a minor part, around the end of the fic, I would say. Don't worry, I'll make you drool... Thanks for the review!  
  
Shakira: You hate your real name? So do I! Don't worry, I'll call you Shakira. Ooh... did you know that I love Shakira! And now I love you too! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Jarilie: Did you really mean that? Thanks!  
  
Monica: Glad to hear it! I'll send you the link if I ever get around to posting it. If I don't post it, I'll just send it to your email. Is that fair? Thanks for the reviews!  
  
Kaye: Kumusta kababayan! You're from Taguig?! I have a friend there! I'm from Cavite. I go to UP Manila. Wanna EB? Hehe...Thanks for the review!  
  
Donna: Sorry for that!  
  
Sorry for taking so long in updating. I've been busy, and I mean REALLY busy. Our big choir performance is coming up in three weeks. Three weeks! That's such a short time! Anyway, our instructor is so stressed out and he's been making us work doubly hard.  
  
Anyway, thanks again for the reviews. Ja ne, minna!  
  
Scarlet Raven 1001 


	8. Nagging Doubts

A/N: Before I begin this fic, I would like to thank Danielle, a certain email reviewer who sent me the most flattering remarks about my work. Thanks again!  
  
Also, I remember promising one of my reviewers that I would reveal more about Kagome and Azalea and this chapter, but as I was writing this, I realized that I can't do that without giving away too much about the whole story. Gomen. I'll try to clear things up a TINY bit in this chap though.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I wish I did though...  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Nagging Doubts  
  
-----/---@  
  
Miroku was hunched over Kirara, putting medicine on her leg wounds. The nekoyoukai was healing pretty quickly, considering that the blasts she got from Naraku were absolutely fatal.  
  
Kirara had been Sango's family pet for four generations of the taijiya clan. When Sango left her town to be a castle guard, Kirara had come along. No one could restrain her. Besides, the taijiya clan had been wiped out - there was no one left to care for the poor neko.  
  
Since then, Kirara had been the castle pet. The princess was always very fond of her. Besides, the princess was a cat person. If he was right, she used to have kittens as pets before she was brought to the palace. Not that the princess could have taken care of them personally - she couldn't touch anything living without harming it.  
  
Miroku had always been rather close to her too. He had to admit, he had been terrified of her when he first set eyes on Kirara. She had come to the palace in her transformed form, that of a flying giant fire-cat. When he saw her normal, kitten-like appearance, he just found that the cat got on his soft spot.  
  
The same way her mistress did.  
  
"Ano... Kirara. Does Sango-sama say anything to you about... me?" he asked before catching himself. He silently berated himself after seeing the look on the youkai's face.  
  
Much to his surprise though, the neko nodded. He blinked. "Honto ni?"  
  
Kirara growled her affirmation. He started to ask, but realized that Kirara wouldn't tell for two reasons: One, Sango probably asked her to keep it a secret. Two, she couldn't speak.  
  
Miroku desperately wanted to know what Sango thought of him. He had always been quite taken with her. He knew she thought of him as quite a pervert, what with his asking of all women he met to bear his child and his constant groping, but he couldn't help but wonder if maybe... maybe she thought anything positive about him.  
  
The first time he saw Sango, she was riding on Kirara, her face running with tears. She was only eleven and he was twelve years old then, and she was still mourning for her departed family. He had offered to help her off Kirara, despite his obvious fright of the neko.  
  
She had looked so distressed, he forgot to ask her to bear his child.  
  
He had been asking that of women since his early age as a joke. The habit had grown on him.  
  
Man, was he delighted to know that the lovely kid was his partner! He befriended her, and she did her best to put up with his lecherous manners. She was hysterical when he told her that he was a monk in training, and had been in training since he was eight. The lechery ran in his 'priestly' family line.  
  
Kirara was looking at him intently, as if trying to decipher his thoughts. He sighed.  
  
"Kirara, I really wanted to ask you if what she says is positive, but I know you won't tell me."  
  
The neko just stared at him, an amused sparkle grazing her small eyes.  
  
Then the communicator alerted him. Inuyasha was calling.  
  
Miroku took the glowing amulet from within his robes and answered Inuyasha. "Konnichiwa, Inuyasha! O genki desu ka?"  
  
"NO!" the hanyou on the other line barked (no pun intended). "I am not fucking fine!"  
  
Miroku sat up straight. Inuyasha looked serious. Seriously pissed off, as well.  
  
"Ok, Inuyasha. Fire away."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"I am not fucking fine!"  
  
"Ok, Inuyasha. Fire away."  
  
Inuyasha had been running at top speed, desperately sniffing out the wolf's trail when he realized that the damn monk Miroku may know what to do in these instances. Inuyasha needed all the help he can get to save Kagome. He had stopped running and called him without even thinking ahead. Now he was stuck.  
  
'Fuck,' he thought. 'Now what do I tell him? Kagome doesn't want to be revealed. How can I ask him without telling him about Kagome?'  
  
"Well..." Miroku frowned on the other side of the line at Inuyasha's sudden loss of words. 'Think, you baka hanyou, think!'  
  
"I was in this town," Inuyasha started to construct a believable story. "and there was this family that let me sleep in their home with them for a night. They have this pretty daughter. So well, the next day, this wolf tribe attacked the town. I fought them off, but their prince took a liking to the girl and abducted her. Now I wanna rescue her to repay her family's kindness, so... do you know if there is anything that can help me? The prince was pretty fast."  
  
Inuyasha watched as Miroku's eyebrows scrunched up in his now familiar 'deep-in-thought look'. Inuyasha wanted to beat the hell out of the guy and demand that he think of something quick so could save Kagome, but he was more civilized than that. Besides, he didn't want to give away his pretty little secret.  
  
Inuyasha's ears perked up when he heard Miroku's voice again. "All I know," Miroku began. Inuyasha stared eagerly at his communicator. "is that the Tetsusaiga was made by the first princess of this land with the purpose of protecting this land, its inhabitants and the princess. Azalea primera, as we call her, must have predicted everything that was to happen."  
  
"And what has that got to do with my problem?"  
  
"Let me explain." Miroku said patiently. "Our books say that the Tetsusaiga has the power to take down one hundred youkai in one swing by an attack that slices through the wind. The Tetsusaiga would go through a portion of the wind and release the said attack."  
  
"You mean it would make some kind of wound in the wind?"  
  
"It would use the wound OF the wind..."  
  
Inuyasha blinked, then whispered dazedly, "Kaze no Kizu..."  
  
"HAI! I believe that may be it!" Miroku shouted excitedly. "If you can figure out how to use the Kaze No Kizu, there would be no problem! You can take on not just the prince of the wolf tribe, you can ball THE wolf tribe!"  
  
Inuyasha pondered for a moment then stirred. "Yeah, That would be great! Thanks, Miroku! Bye!" he said as he closed up the amulet. He picked up Kagome's pack, which she had left when Kouga grabbed her, and grinned.  
  
'I'll get you for messing with me Kouga!' he swore as he took off once again.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"I told you a thousand times: I am not hungry!" Kagome snarled at the insistent wolf youkai that had been trying to make her eat something for the past hour straight.  
  
"But Kagome-neechan..." the wolf protested.  
  
"I AM NOT YOUR NEECHAN! Now go away! I am NOT hungry!!!" she yelled and the wolf scampered away from her wrath and out the heavy wooden doors in fright.  
  
She lied - she was STARVING, but she had no intention to eat anything that came from any member of this tribe. She didn't want anything that could have been tampered with when she wasn't looking. What if they had placed some love potion in there so she would fall for Kouga?  
  
She shuddered at the mere thought of it.  
  
She would NOT fall for anybody through some stupid potion! She didn't even want to fall naturally. She wouldn't... she couldn't.  
  
The thought caused her to lose herself for a moment. Her powers, her gift, as her father had called it, made her seem untouchable to most men. Besides, she had sworn to help her land in any way possible through her powers. She cannot be bothered with a husband or children!  
  
She caught herself right before she felt tears in her eyes. Her self-sworn duty was quite painful to think about. She would grow old all alone, with no one to share her joys with. But if it meant helping her people out, it was worth it - or was it?  
  
'Sometimes I feel like I've been cursed...' the thought struck. She knew the truth. Men don't want her because she was different, she couldn't marry because she may just end up hurting the man - both physically and emotionally - and she felt like shit. She wanted to live normally, even for once in her life.  
  
And her present situation wasn't helping her feel normal. 'I mean, how many girls have wolf youkai chasing after them?' she thought sarcastically.  
  
"Demo, Kouga-sama, she refuses her meals!" a frantic voice was heard from outside. It meant only one thing: Kouga was back.  
  
Kouga went into her 'prison' and walked up to her. Kagome sat down and turned away with a huff as he knelt before her.  
  
"Why don't you want to eat? I can't let my woman go hungry..." he started and Kagome simply fumed.  
  
"I am NOT your woman! And I don't want to eat and that's that!"  
  
"What could I do for you, then?"  
  
"You know what you can do?" Kagome said as she seethed. "You can take me back to Inuyasha so I can finish my quest!"  
  
"But koi, be reasonable!"  
  
"Don't call me that!"  
  
Kagome turned away from him again, but as she turned, she noticed some manmade keys dangling from his belt. She saw opportunity right then, and she turned back to him so quickly, she nearly went dizzy.  
  
'He wants a good woman, he'll get a good woman,' she thought, plastering the most seductive smile she could possibly muster on her lips as she stared into Kouga's eyes.  
  
Kouga himself looked shocked at her sudden character change. She smiled at him coyly, twirling a lock of her long dark hair around her index finger. She leaned towards him, her eyes full of mystery, until their noses were inches apart.  
  
"But now that I think about it, Kouga-kun," she said softly, letting her breaths wash over his face. "I suppose you can call me anything you want..."  
  
Kouga gulped as she continued. "Inuyasha can be so... brash sometimes. He never lets me know that he wants me in any way." Kagome grinned, letting her right hand comb through the black hair that hung from his ponytail. "YOU on the other hand... is there ANY reason why you chose me? Other than my beauty, that is."  
  
Kouga was in a daze. It seemed like his chosen mate was finally coming to her senses! "You." He began, "are not just beautiful. You are enchanting..." he replied dreamily, touching Kagome's other hand. "And you are powerful. You have conviction. You would make a perfect mate. Plus, you smell so wonderful." Kouga said as his hand started to travel up her arm. Just thinking about her scent made him dizzy.  
  
Kagome, on the other hand, had let the hand he was not holding wander from his thick hair down to his waist, she pretended to place her hand on his hip, noting that the keys only hung shallowly. 'I got you now, pervert,' she thought victoriously.  
  
"You are such a flatterer, Kouga-kun," she said with a shy smile. Kouga was surprised when she suddenly pulled her hands away and crossed them on her chest lightly.  
  
"I would eat if you want me to, now go. I know you have your duties to attend to," she said sweetly as a red-faced wolf stared at her. "All I wish is for you to order your men not to watch me as I eat. It makes me uncomfortable."  
  
Kouga nodded dumbly before leaving the room, grinning at her before completely exiting the door. He looked as if he had just succeeded in taming the fiercest of beasts.  
  
She could hear him tell his men to give her food but not watch as she ate. She smiled to herself and plastered a sincere looking smile on her face when the same youkai that she had terrified came back with a plate of cooked meat.  
  
She thanked him, arms still crossed before her as he put the plate on the ground in front of her. As soon as he left and she was sure no one was looking, she pulled her arms from their crossed position on her chest and grinned as she looked at the keys dangling from her hand.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura's body had now healed from the wounds given to her by Naraku when he punished her. But her mental wounds were still fresh. She could remember his insults and threats. She could still feel the pain on her skin as if the wounds were still there.  
  
Now she had to prove herself to Naraku. Though it was fruitless, she had to. He had given her his trust once again, but another failure may cause her to lose it.  
  
Naraku had sent one of his men to take care of Inuyasha this time. She decided to follow the minion and watch how Inuyasha fights so she would be ready for him next time.  
  
She was surprised to find him running a top speed, as if in a great hurry, and belatedly noticed that Kagome was not with him. 'Where could that bitch have gone to?' she idly wondered. Naraku would hear of this.  
  
She took off and followed Inuyasha as he frantically ran through the dry land, leaping from dry tree to dry tree as he did so. That's when she noticed that he had Kagome's square pack slung on his shoulder. She dared to get within 'sniffing distance' and her youkai nose picked up a faint trace of wolf scent on his robes. Then it hit her.  
  
'So the whore has been taken by the ookami clan?' she thought amusedly. 'This could be useful.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
'I will not be held prisoner for much longer,' the mystical woman said calmly to herself. 'I will be saved. I won't believe in anything else but that! And once I regain my full power, Crystallia will be back to how it was before I was taken!'  
  
Azalea smiled to herself determinedly as she thought of Inuyasha and how he was going to be her way... her hope. She would not lose faith.  
  
Naraku had once told her that she would never be free, but she did not believe him. He said that he was the only one who could give her what she wants.  
  
"He lies," she whispered through gritted teeth, perspiration running down her temples. "He is not my only choice... he never will be."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha ran almost blindly through the forest. 'I could smell her! I could smell Kagome!' he thought joyfully as he sprinted faster with every excited step. 'She's close, I know it!'  
  
He had remembered what Miroku told him about the kaze no kizu, but his mind was set on rescuing Kagome and basically nothing else. He could sense other disturbances in the area but he knew that it was fruitless to stop then. He had to get to Kagome as soon as possible!  
  
He could practically see her now. It was just his imagination working overtime, of course, but he could sense her so near him. He couldn't wait to give that wimpy wolf a bashing he would never forget!  
  
'Take away my Kagome, will he?!' he thought angrily before he realized what he had just muttered mentally.  
  
'MY Kagome? Where had I gotten that?' he mused, stopping dead in his tracks. 'Shit.'  
  
He shrugged it off and proceeded to follow Kagome'e enticing scent.  
  
'There!' he thought gleefully, speeding towards the partially hidden cave that emitted her scent.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Kaze no Kizu? What is that?"  
  
Sango sat before Miroku in the main hall, asking him about his earlier conversation with Inuyasha. The monk was deep in thought.  
  
"The wound of the wind. The Tetsusaiga's main attack. I told Inuyasha about it. He was pretty determined to get back at the ookami tribe."  
  
"There is something you are not telling me, Houshi-sama, and for your own benefit, I suggest you tell me now. I have been practicing with Hiraikotsu since this morning," Sango said with a smirk as she saw the monk yield.  
  
"Alright. I have the feeling that Inuyasha isn't exactly being honest with us."  
  
"Ne? Doushite?"  
  
"Well..." he began. "Remember that day when Kagura attacked him?"  
  
Sango nodded. "Hai. He said that he managed to transform the sword into the giant fang."  
  
"Exactly," Miroku said. "But we all know for a fact that the sword would only transform if the user is PROTECTING someone other than himself. He said he was ALONE when he fought Kagura. It's strange."  
  
"SO maybe he was protecting someone," Sango inquired. "What made you think he is dishonest?"  
  
"The abducted girl. He seemed TOO eager to go on a rescue mission. I have a feeling that he lied about her being the daughter of a kind family."  
  
"You are being judgemental, houshi-sama."  
  
"Am I? I am just concerned. I think he may have a companion he is not telling us of."  
  
"Demo, houshi-sama, be reasonable! If he has a companion, he wouldn't keep it from us!"  
  
Miroku considered. "He would if she asked him to."  
  
"She?"  
  
"Yes. She. He would if she asked him to, specially since he seems taken with her. I think she was the one abducted, and now he wishes to rescue her."  
  
"Ne?"  
  
"And I fear that his companion may be in cohorts with Naraku."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome sneaked through the halls of the ookami tribe with as much stealth as she could manage. The keys she had taken from Kouga had definitely done their trick, but she still had a long way to go before she gains her freedom.  
  
She ducked her head as a wolf guard stepped from around the corner. 'Phew!' she thought in relief as he walked past her. She continued to walk slowly towards the mouth of the cave, casting weary glances back the way she went.  
  
She had to get out of there!  
  
She was just a step away from freedom. She stepped out of the cave and into the dark night with a long sigh of relief. She started to walk away when a deep voice suddenly called from behind her.  
  
"And just WHERE do you think YOU are going?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Sorry for the long update. I've been horribly busy. My classes start on Monday and I am really freaked out!  
  
Also, sorry if this chap is shorter than the others. Like I said, I've been busy.  
  
So there! Please read and review! Thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chaps! Ja ne! 


	9. Secrets

A/N: Hello minna! Well, I'm back. I am so sorry for taking so long with this chapter. School has just resumed in my country and it is so darn taxing! Gods, I hate being a sophomore! College sucks beans!  
  
Anyway, here it is. Thanks to all who reviewed my previous chapters, by the way. This chap may be a bit shorter than my other chaps, coz I still have to 'study' for an upcoming test. And, I have to go see my choir instructor in two hours. I missed practice for the past four consecutive days and he must be hell furious.  
  
On with the chap!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I'm a starving seventeen year old college sophomore with a run-down Nissan and a house that actually belongs to my parents. Pathetic, ne?  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Secrets  
  
-----/---@  
  
"And just WHERE do you think YOU are going?"  
  
Kagome shrieked as she turned towards the sound of the voice, dread flooding her being and only one coherent thought stood out in her mind.  
  
'Shit, I've been caught!' she thought frantically as she faced the source of her fright. The raven-haired woman's eyes narrowed in fury at the person she found there.  
  
"Kagura... what are you doing here?!" she demanded, quickly stepping away from the ruby-eyed youkai. Kagura smirked at her, advancing towards her with her fan out before her.  
  
"Teme... I found out that you have been taken by the ookami tribe and I just thought maybe I should get rid of you before Inuyasha rescues you..."  
  
"Bakero. You could never defeat me!" Kagome said in an outrage, grabbing her bow from its place on her back.  
  
Kagura just stared at her with a strange smile as Kagome hurriedly strung an arrow. "Don't worry. I have no intention of killing you just yet, Kagome- chan," Kagura said, making Kagome stare in shock. "Surprised? I know who you truly are by now."  
  
Kagome stared at the female youkai with shock. 'Masaka... she couldn't really...?" she straightened, pretending to be confident. "You lie, Kagura."  
  
"Do you think I am stupid, LADY Kagome? When you and I encountered each other for the first time, your outburst about your ruined city surprised me. Now I know why." Kagura said with a triumphant grin as Kagome's eyes widened in fear.  
  
"You... you can't..."  
  
"It all adds up. The silence, the formless blasts of light... It's YOU, isn't it?" Kagura taunted with a sneer. "Who would have thought that a spineless noble such as yourself would mature so quickly. And you hid your secret well. Maybe I should inform Naraku-sama..."  
  
"IYA!" Kagome shouted in a panic before she could entirely think about it.  
  
Kagura grinned. 'So I AM right!' she thought in triumph. "Or maybe, I could tell Inuyasha! Just imagine how AWFUL he would feel if he found out that you had lied to him!"  
  
"Iya... You got me, Kagura. Demo, onegai... don't tell them. I would do anything..." Kagome implored Kagura, who just smirked in return.  
  
"I won't tell them. Especially not Naraku. He would have my blood for it. But I assure you this: despite all your desperate efforts my beloved friend, Inuyasha WILL die Kagome! Or should I say..."  
  
"KAGURA!!!"  
  
The sudden holler silenced Kagura and caused Kagome's eyes to shoot up in both fear and surprise. A blur of red and silver landed before the two women as the voice died down.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked Kagura before he turned to Kagome. "Are you alright, Kagome?"  
  
To his surprise, Kagome was staring at him the way she would have stared at someone who was about to murder her. Utter fear and distress was in her eyes, and that fact was made even clearer by her scent.  
  
"Kagome? Oi! Daijobu?" Inuyasha asked confusedly, wary of Kagura's presence right behind him. Kagome shook her head lightly, and instead of answering, she asked him something he wasn't quite expecting in the softest tone she had ever used.  
  
"How... how long have you been here? Did you..."  
  
"What the fuck are you rambling about, bitch? I just got here to find Kagura harassing you!"  
  
Kagome visibly brightened at that. "Great!" she said, before turning back to Kagura. "Now that I think about it, you don't scare me Kagura. I don't care what you do. And if you as much as try to tell, I would kill you slowly. Got that?"  
  
Kagura grinned, then plucked a feather from her hair, preparing to use it for escape. "Such brave words, Kagome. But like I said, I won't do that. I just came here to inform you, slut." And with that, she took off swiftly.  
  
Inuyasha felt lost. "Oi, what was that about?"  
  
Kagome's scent changed again for a second, then went back to normal before replying. "Nothing. She was threatening to spread horrible lies about me and I warned her not to."  
  
"Good for you. Mind telling me how you got out?"  
  
"Innocent seduction my friend," Inuyasha just gave her a strange look. "Eh, don't ask."  
  
"I won't," the hanyou said matter-of-factly. "Now, let's blow this joint before that idiot ookami realizes that you are..."  
  
"Soldiers! Where the hell is MY Kagome?!"  
  
"...gone." Inuyasha quickly lifted Kagome onto his back and took off into the now darkened night sky when he heard Kouga's enraged voice asking for his 'woman'.  
  
----/---@  
  
A half hour of desperately exhausting downwind running later, Inuyasha finally paused in his frantic steps for a breather.  
  
"Ano... Daijobu, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked anxiously as she looked down at the panting Inuyasha from her place on his back.  
  
"Hai... d-da-daijo-bu... I'm fine..." he answered between heaving breaths as he bent down to let Kagome slide off his shoulders. He turned to her with a watery grin and found her staring curiously at him.  
  
"Na-nani?" Inuyasha asked grumpily.  
  
"Inuyasha, you're exhausted!"  
  
"No, really. Ya think?" he answered sarcastically.  
  
"Shut up, baka, I'm making an observation here!" Kagome laughed. "I mean, you usually don't get tired so easily. We've been traveling for quite some time now and you have NEVER gotten so winded before."  
  
"Well, I've been running around, trying to find you all day, bitch! Of course I'm fucking exhausted!" Inuyasha said defensively.  
  
"That's not... oooh, never mind!" Kagome snapped back.  
  
Inuyasha stared as she turned away with a huff. She was undeniably smart and observant. He looked up at the night sky and noted that the moon was now just a tiny sliver on the pitch black sky. In a couple of days, it was bound to disappear completely. 'No wonder I'm not myself.' He thought, belatedly realizing that Kagome's strange scent seems to have waned. 'But then again, maybe it's just me.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Sango lay awake on her bed, thinking. Miroku's words... what he said disturbed her. Could Inuyasha really be hiding something so important from them? How did Naraku get to him so quickly? She shook her head against her thoughts.  
  
"I have to clear my mind. I have to SLEEP for the gods' sake!" she whispered irately, wishing that Miroku hadn't told her of those things. But actually, she was rather glad that he shared his thoughts with her.  
  
Miroku was always a reserved man - if you left out the groping part, that is. When she met him all those years ago, he had been rather distant. He barely spoke, claiming that 'the pains of the world would reveal themselves, not through words, but through life itself.'  
  
The only time they ever really had a heart-to-heart was the day they met, and even then, she was the one who did most of the talking.  
  
And lately, she found that they have been talking more and more, since the princess was abducted. She wasn't glad for the abduction, but she was glad that the incident had seemed to somehow gotten them closer.  
  
Sango smiled lightly as she thought of Miroku. He was such a pervert, but Sango knew the truth: she loved the lech. She enjoyed having him around her as much as she enjoyed having him talk to her.  
  
But glad as she was about their newfound conversationary tactics, it still pained her to think that Miroku may not return her feelings. Sure, he groped her all the time, but she was the only girl, aside from Lady Azalea, in the palace. And there was no way on earth that he could grope the princess, even if men HAD been allowed to touch her. She was 'electrifying', that princess.  
  
Sango sighed in frustration. She didn't know what to make of this. She closed her eyes for a second, but they popped back open when she heard a soft rustling at the front of her chamber door. She stiffened, then decided to pretend to be asleep. She lay on her side and closed her eyes. Whoever that was would go away soon enough.  
  
But she was wrong. The one who was outside her room was shifting a lot, as if fidgeting. Then, she heard the soft click of the knob as the door was pushed open.  
  
She was stunned. Somebody just came into her room!  
  
She feigned sleep again, only to feel her mattress tilt under the strain of another weight settling down on it. Sango was about to turn and slap the person when she felt a familiar rosary-covered hand reach up to lightly touch her arm.  
  
'Miroku?' she thought dazedly. She turned around to face him, her eyes still partly closed so he wouldn't notice that she was awake. The darkness of the room hid her face well, and she saw that, it was, indeed, the houshi, who sat on her bed.  
  
He leaned closer and touched her cheek with the lightest of touches before brushing back the bangs that covered her face. He was whispering something, and Sango strained to hear.  
  
"You have always been special to me, Sango. You... I wish I could tell you directly. Well, I could, but not when you're awake. You are so fascinating, did you know that? I come here almost every night, since the day we met, just to watch you sleep," Miroku said softly.  
  
Sango was blushing a thousand shades of red. 'Thank the gods for the dark!' she thought. A part of her told her that she should be angry at the monk for sneaking into her room all the time, but somehow, she couldn't.  
  
"I wish you knew how much I..." Miroku hesitated, then shook his head. "But I know it was never meant to be, so what's the use? I just want you to know..."  
  
What he did next nearly caused Sango to jump off her bed. Miroku slowly leaned down and KISSED her cheek! It took all of Sango's self control to not reveal that she had been awake the whole time.  
  
Miroku then stood and quietly left. When the door closed, Sango shot up from her bed and lightly touched her cheek. She could feel the heat on her face and knew that she was blushing wildly. She stared at the door through which Miroku had just passed, then smiled widely.  
  
'I guess THAT helped clear my mind!' she thought happily as sleep took her.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Gah! So sappy!  
  
-----/---@  
  
"That one."  
  
"Baka. That's too small. This one would do better."  
  
"Don't be silly Kagome! It's not small! It would fit at lest ten people! Besides, this one smells horrible."  
  
"No it doesn't."  
  
"You just can't smell as well as I could. This smells like a hundred gallons of shit was placed here!"  
  
"But this one has more moonlight in it because its opening is facing the moon!"  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha stood in the middle of a barren field, arguing over two caves, and which one they would use for the night. Both caves were quite fine actually, but they had to decide on one, and they had their preferences.  
  
"But it stinks!" Inuyasha complained yet again.  
  
"But your cave is dark!" Kagome shot back.  
  
"Stupid wench. If the dark is your sole fucking concern, we could always light a fucking campfire!" the hanyou yelled before he turned with a huff.  
  
"But then it would be hot!"  
  
"It's freezing! Besides, what have you got against the dark? You've avoided dark places ever since we've met!" he accused.  
  
"No I have not."  
  
"Have too."  
  
"Have not! And that's not the point..."  
  
"You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?" Inuyasha teased.  
  
"I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK!"  
  
"OK! But I still don't want to stay in that stinking cave!"  
  
Kagome just sighed. 'Gods, he is sooo stubborn when he decides to be!' she thought as she practically felt steam pour out of her ears.  
  
"Alright. We'll stay in the darker cave. But YOU will cook dinner." Kagome declared, thinking that Inuyasha would agree to sleep in her chosen cave with that condition.  
  
"Sure, no problem."  
  
She thought wrong.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Kagome, where the hell did you put the ladles and stuff?"  
  
Inuyasha frowned into Kagome's bag. They had just settled into his chosen cave. Kagome had looked extremely surprised when he agreed and he had grinned in spite of himself.  
  
His frown deepened. Her bag was confusing! There were combs, towels, brushes, lots of uncooked food, some 'emergency supplies', a first aid kit and a lot of other crap, but he just couldn't find the stirrer.  
  
Kagome looked over at him from her spot on the floor. She was trying to start a fire, and so far, was nowhere near succeeding.  
  
"It's in there somewhere. Keep looking," she replied distractedly.  
  
"I looked everywhere, Kagome."  
  
"Well, look harder! Try digging down to the bottom of the bag," she instructed, before squealing gleefully when the flint finally reacted to her furious rubbing.  
  
Inuyasha mumbled something about messy bags while tossing her stuff out of her bag one by one. When he finally had everything out and Kagome had a good fire running, he glowered at her.  
  
"THESE were inside your bag," he snarled. "See any ladles?"  
  
"Oh my," Kagome said, then smiled sweetly. The smile was totally unexpected, and Inuyasha was disarmed quite suddenly. "I must have left them in that last cave we went to. Haha! Watashi no baka."  
  
Inuyasha sighed. "Now what?"  
  
"Well... there's a town about 300 meters away. I could go steal some from the nearest house..."  
  
"NO!" he exclaimed. "No stealing. Here," he said, handing her some of the money that he still had with him. "Take this and BUY the ladles. I would hear none of your god damn thieving skills."  
  
"Ano, thanks. You know, I could make away with this money and never come back," Kagome said, mock-seriously.  
  
"You won't."  
  
"Eh?" Kagome stared as the hanyou calmly turned around to put her things back in her bag.  
  
"Firstly," he started. "You wanna get to the princess, and you admitted to not being able to do that on the day we decided to travel together. Secondly, I just know you won't. Now go."  
  
"You know I won't? What made you 'know' that?" Kagome asked teasingly, then blushed a violent shade of red at his unexpected answer.  
  
"I trust you."  
  
Kagome stuttered, before finding her misplaced tongue. "Gods, um, I'd better go now, then!" she said brightly, her face still red, before rushing off to get the stuff.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha watched her retreating figure with interest. He shook his head as he saw her trip and nearly fall over a small rock in the road.  
  
'I guess I got the reaction that I wanted,' he thought to himself, before he set himself on chopping the veggies in Kagome's bag.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome cursed lightly as she tripped. 'Damn. I should watch where I'm going! I get more bruises when I don't.'  
  
But she couldn't help but be distracted.  
  
* "I trust you." *  
  
His last words to her echoed painfully in her head. 'He trusts me,' she thought. The thought sent wonderful chills throughout her body, but filled her with dread at the same time.  
  
'He trusts me, but I didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth,' she thought in self-disgust. 'I know I trust him now, but I still can't tell him!'  
  
She shook her head angrily as she felt tears of frustration well up in her eyes. 'I have been lying to him for so long. He thinks he knows me enough to trust me, but the Kagome he knows is half a lie! I... he knows only half the truth about me.'  
  
The tears started falling at that last thought. It was painful. Desperation filled her as she silently debated with herself. If she told him now, he would never trust her again. If she didn't, he may find out sooner or later and... that would just make it worse!  
  
She wiped the tears with the back of her hand as she approached the village. "I won't tell him," she decided without much enthusiasm. He didn't need to know.  
  
'He would leave anyway,' she tried to comfort herself, but that thought brought even more pain to her. She was so confused, but she couldn't tell him.  
  
She would just bear the pain of knowing that he trusted her without knowing that she had lied to him.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: There's my chap! I hope you liked it!  
  
Review Responses:  
  
liLmissy^^: Ok lang yun, tol! Basta bumalik, diba?! Oh, and thanks for the compliments! I am so glad you like my fic! Salamat sa suporta! Good luck sa upcoming school year!  
  
RavenShadow: I'm sooooo glad you like it! Anyway, don't worry... she's not... really! Please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks for your time!  
  
Aurory: EEEP! It wasn't him! Though, I've got to admit, him rescuing her was a big consideration on my part! Thanks for the review!  
  
faerydust03: Oh wow, thanks! Glad you like it! Thanks for the review, and I hope to 'see' you again!  
  
Hanna-chan: Please don't be disappointed just yet... those two are not who they seem to be. I'm glad you like my fic! Thanks for the review and please, keep reading!  
  
Nite: Oh, wow, thanks for the review! Sorry I didn't respond last time. Anyway, please keep reviewing!  
  
Kiya1821: Sure thing! I'm actually planning to start typing it this afternoon! Lol!  
  
Kali69: REYNAAAAAA!!!!!!! TOL! Musta?! You reviewed! I am so happy, I think I'm gonna cry! *Waves to other readers* Hey guys, my classmate reviewed! LOL! Anyway, thanks for the incredibly loooong review my friend. You have always been quite articulate (that's why we're friends, ne?)! I'd take your advices to heart, I swear upon the grave of my grandma Precy, who is still alive, by the way. And thanks for the overall positive feedback. I'd say I'm speechless with glee, but as you can plainly see, I'm never speechless, except in Math class. LOL! Thanks again!  
  
E-mail reviews:  
  
Edwin: Wild guess baby.  
  
Larence: Sorry about that! But to be honest, I don't really know for sure. Think you could enlighten this humble brainless authoress?  
  
Kara: Things will get clearer as the story nears the end. I promise. Thanks for the email!  
  
Shakira: Let me just share a tiny bit of info... Kagome and I have the same hair color!  
  
Marge: You read my other fic?! OH! That's a lemon! I made it while I was typing chap 6 of Seven Weeks, I think. It was supposed to be a one-shot, actually. But now I just posted chap3.  
  
Monica: I'm glad you liked my drawing. Heck, that took me three hours to finish!  
  
Kaye: EB means 'eye-ball'. Tanong ko kung type mo mag-meet. ^_^  
  
Anyway, thanks again for the reviews. Ja ne, minna!  
  
Scarlet Raven 1001 


	10. Million Dollar Revelations

A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! ONEGAI! I know I took a really took a long time with this chapter, GOMEN, but it WASN'T MY FAULT! Well, maybe it was, kinda.  
  
I had this chapter typed up for about a week already. I actually did this before accomplishing my Humanities reading assignment. I even checked it, but then I found out that FF.net had BANNED me from use of my account!  
  
Yup, they god damn BANNED me! It is sooo not fair!!! They had deleted my other story, 'Feverish', then froze my account for breaking rules of conduct stuff. Not fair! My fic was actually properly R! CHIKUSOOOO! I mean, there are tons of dirty, hardcore PWP's out there on this very site, but they don't delete THOSE! I actually tried to make mine tasteful, and they deleted it! Putang ina (That was tagalog!)!  
  
So, I had to repost that story in another site. BUMMER! To those interested, they are on adultfanfiction.net and mediaminer.org (Hint, hint).  
  
Anyway, to make up for my long absence, here is an extra long and extra 'revealing' chap for you guys. I had enough time to edit it, so hopefully, the errors would be minimal and the plot is REALLY starting to thicken in here. I revealed some stuff here that I kept hush-hush before, specially the ones about Azalea and Kagome's past. Actually, I left so many hints that I think you guys may figure it out already!  
  
So, enough with my talk and sentiments. On with the chap!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. It pains me to think about it, but...  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Million Dollar Revelations  
  
-----/---@  
  
"OTOUSAN!"  
  
Inuyasha shouted as he bolted out of the hay-made bed. He was drenched in sweat despite the coolness brought by an oncoming storm. Dry tears stained his cheeks the way the tiny drops of dew clung to the dry leaves of trees outside the cave. 'It was a dream. Why do my damn dreams always have to be so painful?' he asked himself.  
  
He dreamt of the day of his father's death, a day which he could remember very clearly. After his brother told him of their father's departure, he had burst into his mother's room, not daring to believe it, asking his mother to tell him that Sesshoumaru was lying. She just fell onto the floor in a heap, dragging him with her in a crushing embrace, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall. He had wished that it weren't true, but his mother's unspoken answer made him realize the painful truth: Inutaisho was gone.  
  
Tears fell from his eyes slowly, almost imperceptibly, like that day when his father had died. Inuyasha and Inutaisho were very close...  
  
"Inuyasha, is something wrong?" a sleepy Kagome asked as she sat on her 'bed', awakened by his sudden outburst. She looked up at him and he watched her eyes widen in shock.  
  
"Inuyasha, omei wa... are you crying?" Kagome asked in disbelief as she crawled over to him, sitting less than a foot away from him. Inuyasha hurriedly dried the tears away.  
  
"Keh," he answered. "What made you think that?"  
  
"Mou," Kagome replied. "Yes you were!"  
  
Kagome tried to brush the remaining stains on his face as Inuyasha fiercely yelled that he just had something in his eye.  
  
"Right..." Kagome said with a smirk as she rummaged through her things to find something to wipe his face with. "And I suppose your cry for your dad was nothing?"  
  
He remained silent. She knew he was crying, but no way was he telling her the reason WHY he was crying!  
  
"Bad dream?" she prodded gently as she handed him a hanky, and Inuyasha felt his heart clench at her soft words. She was trying to soothe him as best as she could, and without thinking, he nodded.  
  
"I... I dreamt of my dad," he said softly. "I remembered the day he - the day he died ten years ago. It was really bad. My mom was nearly crazy with grief and I didn't know what to do anymore. She really loved my dad, and actually, so did I..."  
  
Kagome was sympathetic. "I didn't know that you had lost your dad. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Don't be. It ain't your fault. But sometimes... I think it was my fault." Inuyasha replied, his head down. He didn't want her to see how upset he was.  
  
"How could you think that? I mean, you wouldn't kill your own father, would you?" Kagome asked, making Inuyasha look up at her with a start.  
  
"IYA! No, of course not. But he - he died because of me."  
  
An uneasy silence settled over the two, broken only by the recurring blows of thunder. Inuyasha grimly spoke again. "As you can see, I'm a hanyou. In my world, hanyous are considered a disgrace by youkai."  
  
"That is so judgemental! Why would they think that?!" Kagome gasped.  
  
"Because they think humans are worthless trash and since hanyous are half human, we are scorned badly by youkai. Even if we use disguises, youkais can smell your heritage. It's a good thing that most humans do not know of the existence of youkai at present because we wear disguises, but in the olden times, youkai are rampant and even humans think lowly of hanyous."  
  
"My father was powerful both as a youkai and as a businessman, but when he married my mom, some youkai lost their respect for him. Their union couldn't have been kept secret if he tried because their scents give it away. The police reports said that my father was shot, but they never found no bullets. He obviously wasn't shot by a human gun."  
  
"That's terrible," Kagome remarked. "So he... he was..."  
  
"Killed by a youkai, that's for sure. One good thing came out of it though. The damn youkais that used to bug my family stopped their harassment when oyaji died. They probably thought that it wasn't worth disturbing a family of one hanyou, one human and one youkai-lord-to-be that was my half brother."  
  
Kagome looked down at her hands and clutched her eternally bandaged wrist thoughtfully. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She felt so bad for Inuyasha! She fought the tears and tried to distract herself by asking questions.  
  
"You have a half brother? Youkai-lord-to-be?"  
  
"Yeah," Inuyasha replied. "Sesshoumaru. My dad's son with his former mate. He's older so he gets my dad's title as Lord of the West once he is of age, which, by the way, was four years ago. Fluffy is five years older than me."  
  
"Fluffy?" Kagome asked, confused.  
  
"Sesshoumaru's nickname. My mom dubbed him that because of his tail. He despises the name, but it kinda grew on him. Besides, he couldn't use his talons on my mom. He kinda sees her as his own mom already."  
  
"Oh," was Kagome's very articulate response. "You know, I'm glad you opened up to me like that. I... I never had anyone care enough to talk to me the way you just did, and I myself am not that good at revealing my true self and thoughts."  
  
Inuyasha blushed. "It's ok, really. I had to get it out of my system. Besides, we're even. You told me a lot about yourself already. You told me who you really are. You told me about your past, your family... Kagome, are you crying?!"  
  
Kagome had suddenly burst into tears, making Inuyasha panic. 'Gods, I hate crying women!' he thought as he desperately tried to make Kagome stop crying.  
  
"Oi! Was it something I said?" Inuyasha asked in alarm.  
  
Kagome just cried harder. 'You have no idea,' she thought bitterly as Inuyasha frantically tried to make her look back at him.  
  
What he had said struck a nerve. * 'You told me a lot about yourself already. You told me who you really are. You told me about your past, your family...' *  
  
The fact was, she lied to him about so many things! She couldn't bear it, but she had to, and now she was in tears again, and it sucked. She had cried and pondered on it the whole time she was away from him after his revelation. After she came back with the pots, she willed herself not to think about it, but now that he reminded her...  
  
"God dammit, wench, stop your fucking crying!" Inuyasha freaked out as she cried even harder. He really hated seeing her in tears and yet she couldn't help it if she was emotional!  
  
"Gomen, I just... well, I dunno why I started crying," she lied. "I'm sorry, I..."  
  
His hand on her tearstained cheek cut off whatever she was about to say. Kagome almost gasped as she felt his fingers gently begin to brush her tears back.  
  
"Isn't it funny," he began as a light, mischievous blush started on his cheeks. "A moment ago, YOU were trying to stop MY tears. But now, everything just reversed so quickly."  
  
Kagome didn't even bother to think of a response. His fingers were practically numbing her brain and she barely registered the fact that they were now sitting inches apart, his compelling amber eyes staring deep into her gray/blue orbs. He glanced down at her lips for a very short moment, his face hovering a very short distance away from her own. She was blushing now and she would have screamed at his invasion of her personal space, but decided that she didn't mind at all.  
  
She noticed absently that his face was coming closer, their lips a breath apart. Inuyasha's hand on her cheek had moved slightly to hold her more fully as he slowly moved forward. Kagome began to close her eyes as she felt his hot breath on her face, waiting to feel the shock of his lips on her own...  
  
Thunder suddenly chose to strike extremely loudly right at that moment, and in surprise, Inuyasha and Kagome jumped apart quickly. Kagome sat stunned for a moment, blushing a hundred shades of red, before regaining her wits and turning back to her spot on the ground with a shrill 'goodnight' to the speechless hanyou.  
  
Inuyasha stared at Kagome as she lay with her back to him, and he noted that her scent was laced with excited shock. He briefly recalled the violent shades on her cheeks as she went and hastily crawled back to her sleeping spot on the floor.  
  
He stayed silent as he slowly settled back to sleep. He too had furiously flaming cheeks, and his eyes were wide with surprise.  
  
'What was I thinking?!' he berated himself. 'Was I just about to... to... KISS her? Gods... where had that come from?!'  
  
That thought sent endless shudders through his spine, and as he thought more deeply about what had ALMOST transpired, he just got more and more astonished. He was going to kiss her, he knew that now, but the question of where he had gotten that courage, even for just that one insane moment, made him shiver with shock.  
  
Her uneven breathing alerted him to the fact that he was not the only one who lay awake. 'Maybe she's thinking about it too?' he thought almost hopefully. The thought that she may be contemplating on the 'almost kiss' comforted him somehow. Because if she was, it probably meant that it meant something to her somehow. And he knew that it meant a lot to him.  
  
'Keh! God damn fucking thunder,' he thought bitterly.  
  
Kagome, on the other hand, couldn't force the blush to leave her cheeks. 'Baka! Stop thinking about it! Maybe you were wrong! Maybe he wasn't really... oh Gods, but I just KNOW he was! Stupid thunder!'  
  
He was gonna kiss her. She was sure of it, and she couldn't stop the excitement that pulsed through her veins at the thought, as she realized that she really WANTED him to kiss her! She furiously scolded herself.  
  
'Iie! No! This isn't supposed to happen! Why am I... Why am I even thinking about this! I shouldn't be so attached to him in the first place. He'd leave... and even if he wouldn't... I couldn't be with him once this is over. I'll have to go back to my duty.'  
  
She pulled at her hair as she thought of that. 'It hurts... but why? It's not supposed to hurt! Why don't I want him to leave?' She held back a sigh of frustration as she realized that she didn't really want to know why. Or perhaps, she just wasn't ready.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Morning broke bright and early for the pair who slept rather unsoundly. Both slept feeling a bit queasy about what nearly happened, still quite unwilling to admit that the reason they couldn't let it go was because they wished that it had NOT been interrupted by what Inuyasha now called 'fucking thunder'.  
  
Kagome slowly opened her heavy eyelids, unconsciously sweeping her eyes across the cave to find the hanyou that lay but a few feet from her. He was still sleeping, albeit turning reflexively at about every other second.  
  
He looked so innocent while sleeping. It was almost as if she were looking into the face of a worry-free child. He was just so adorable that Kagome had to physically restrain herself from going over to him to pet his ears.  
  
She turned her head to find the bowls that they had used for eating their dinner the previous night, still unwashed. They sat right beside the pot and ladles that Inuyasha had used in cooking. He had made a sort of strange, thick broth from the veggies she usually kept in her pack and Kagome found the food delicious. It was nothing like the luxurious meals that she used to eat before Naraku took over, but it was still VERY good. Gods, Inuyasha can cook! Kagome had been shocked beyond words at the newfound knowledge and had stuffed her face with as much as she can handle.  
  
She started rearranging her stuff and putting some of the mess away. As she passed Inuyasha though, she noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of his haori. Kagome decided to sneak a peak at what it was, and picking it out of his robes, she gazed in surprise as a small image of Azalea greeted her eyes.  
  
She had taken his stuff for him when he was injured in that last battle with Kagura, but never bothered to look through them. She never realized that he kept an image of Azalea with him. At least, not until now.  
  
The image had been drawn perfectly, making the princess look alive and real in the painting. Her blue/gray eyes sparkled with their usual brilliance and her beautiful ankle-length raven hair was pulled back in a complicated bun which left thick locks of it to hang loosely behind her back. She was smiling, looking innocently blessed.  
  
Kagome's blood started to race with nervousness as she stared harder at the image. She touched her hair in quiet alarm as if trying to feel for the tips of the shiny strands. She hastily ran out of the cave to find the brook that had been nearby.  
  
The pavement was still wet from the previous night's powerful onslaught and she tripped as she manically ran towards the brook. As soon as she reached the water's edge, she looked into it almost cautiously, staring at her own image. She swept her hair back with her hands in a slight imitation of the way the princess' hair was done. She pulled the remaining locks down to frame her face as hair framed the face of the lady in the image, and mimicked her smile. She held her hair in place with one hand and held the picture with the other, comparing her reflection on the water's surface with the picture that she held in her hand. Her smile instantly faded.  
  
'Shimatta,' she swore mentally. 'I still look too much like... like...' Kagome cringed as she looked at herself and the picture once again.  
  
'I'm lucky he hasn't noticed yet,' Kagome thought in slight relief. 'But what do I do when he does? Gods! I thought for sure that cutting my hair and dressing differently would do the trick, but no! I still look... the same,' she bristled in agitation as she let her hair fall back against her shoulders. "I'll bet the others would know if they saw me."  
  
She reluctantly stood up and pocketed the picture. 'Maybe if I keep it, just maybe, he wouldn't realize it?' she thought in hope, knowing that it was in vain. Inuyasha wasn't thick, and besides, he was bound to know sooner or later.  
  
As she stood though, she felt a familiar, highly unwelcome sticky moisture in her lower regions. "Oh, kuso! I almost forgot!" she swore as she realized what it was.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha once again awoke to the smell of something delicious cooking over a fire. 'Kagome,' he thought as he got up and looked around. Sure enough, there she was, sitting on the floor, cooking breakfast and humming a merry tune.  
  
'She is so predictable. I feel like I've known her so long,' he thought fondly, and with that thought, he found himself mentally counting off his remaining days in Crystallia.  
  
'Day 13,' he thought. 'This is day 13, leaving me with, what, 36 days?'  
  
He suddenly felt glum as he looked over at Kagome once again. Just a bit more than five weeks. He would be out of Crystallia by then. He knew that he should be glad somehow, but the thought bothered him to no end.  
  
'Once I leave, I would never see her again,' he thought in disdain after finally realizing why he didn't welcome the idea of going back home as he should. He glanced down on his lap, where his fists were clenching tightly into his hakama.  
  
"Ohayou, Inuyasha!" He looked up as he heard Kagome greet him. She was looking at him with a small innocent smile, holding the ladle in her upraised hand.  
  
Something suddenly occurred to him. He always thought Kagome was pretty, but that smile made him realize that Kagome also looked incredibly familiar.  
  
'Now where have I seen that smile before?' he thought in confusion as she turned back to their breakfast. As he pondered though, he suddenly smelled something that sent red lights around his paranoid head. The scent was weak, but it was there.  
  
"Blood!" he suddenly burst out. Kagome turned to him with an inquiring look.  
  
"Nani?" she asked confusedly. "What about blood?"  
  
"I can smell YOUR blood! I didn't smell it earlier... You're injured!" Inuyasha stated in panic as he rose to walk over to her, intending to inspect her. Instead of starting to panic and yell about herself bleeding though, Kagome just blushed a hundred shades of red and looked down. She looked embarrassed and it was evident in her scent.  
  
"Nani? What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked when he sensed her embarrassment. He started to panic even more, when he realized that his sense of smell was quite weaker than it usually was.  
  
Kagome just smiled shyly up at him in response. "Daijobu, Inuyasha. I'm not wounded. I'm just... well..."  
  
"Nani? I can smell your blood Kagome. I know I'm not mistaken. You're bleeding!"  
  
"Genki desu, Inuyasha. The blood you smell... is not from an injury..." Kagome stated, looking down as she continued to blush wilder.  
  
"Keh! So you are bleeding!" Inuyasha nearly shouted as he sat beside her. "If you're fine, why are you bleeding?!" (A/N: Not very sharp, are you Inu?)  
  
"I... well..." Kagome stuttered in clear embarrassment. "I'm just having my monthly... woman's day." She said uneasily.  
  
Inuyasha blushed as he finally understood what she was trying to say. "Oh," he said. "G-gomen nasai. I panicked."  
  
"It's ok, Inuyasha. Hey, I didn't know you could... well, smell THAT!" Kagome remarked as she turned back to the food.  
  
"Yeah, well, now you do."  
  
"Gomen to you too, Inuyasha. I should have told you so that you wouldn't panic, but I didn't realize that you could sense it. Just so you wouldn't panic again, I... I have my period every month, on the day in which the new moon first rises in the night sky," Kagome explained with a blush. She looked up, however, when she heard Inuyasha suck in a surprised breath.  
  
'Oh shit. I hope I heard wrong,' he thought as Kagome turned back to him, a puzzled look on her face. "New moon, you say? You mean, today... TONIGHT... is the first night of the new moon?" he asked slowly.  
  
"Ee," she said. "Yes it is. Doushite?"  
  
"Keh," he stated nervously as he turned around, leaving her staring at his back.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Houshi-sama? Omei wa doko? Houshi-sama!"  
  
Miroku turned as he heard Sango's sweet but seemingly panicked voice drift across the main palace halls. He had been silently meditating in the throne room, still desperately trying to reach the princess with his powers. It didn't work.  
  
He sighed dejectedly as Sango's footsteps padded nearer. "I'm here, Sango- sama!"  
  
Sango's footsteps sounded heavy and urgent. Something was wrong.  
  
"Sango-sama, is something wrong?" Miroku asked as soon as Sango's form appeared through the doorway.  
  
"Ee. Houshi-sama, it's about Inuyasha-sama." Sango said hurriedly. "He... I just found out something about his world."  
  
"Nanda?"  
  
"When he left his world, we made a glitch in the dimensional portal." Sango's eyes were wide with fear, and at her words, Miroku stood straight up.  
  
"Nani? Are you sure?! Dou ka? How did you know? Sango, what would happen now?"  
  
Sango's face was ashen. "Miroku-sama," she started. Sango abruptly stopped, while Miroku stirred at this.  
  
'She said my name,' he thought in astonishment. 'She said it with a title, but she said my name, for the first time!'  
  
Sango was surprised at herself. 'Gods,' she thought. 'I was so worried, I let his name slip!' She thought of him so many times, that during this panicked time, she accidentally said it out loud. She decided to pretend not to have noticed it.  
  
"The law is for him to stay here only seven weeks. If not followed, it may mean the destruction of Inuyasha-sama's world." Sango said weakly.  
  
Miroku had been so surprised by her saying his name, he barely heard her, but he woke from his self-made trance when he heard the word 'destruction'.  
  
"Demo, that's not right!" he shouted as he panicked. It was so uncharacteristic for him to shout, but his panic blew fire for the first time. "The law says that if he does not get back to his world in time, time would simply resume without him, time key or not. It never said that his world would be destroyed!"  
  
"I know, but the glitch that appeared twisted that unspoken law. I know that you feared that Inuyasha-sama would exceed the time. Then, it was fine if he exceeded. His time would simply cease from its temporary pause. But ... if Inuyasha so much as stays here a second over seven weeks, his world would be destroyed completely!"  
  
Miroku was speechless at Sango's ouburst. "Sango-sama, are you certain?"  
  
"Do you doubt me, houshi? OF COURSE I'M POSITIVE!!! Do you think that I would just barge in here and worry you with bullshit?!" Sango screeched at him, raising her arms in frustrated fury.  
  
Miroku had never heard her swear before, and it surprised him. "Sango-sama, I'm sorry. I know you are responsible enough to tell me straight facts. Gomen."  
  
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have freaked out on you that way. Houshi-sama, should we tell Inuyasha-sama?" Sango asked timidly.  
  
"Aa. He deserves to know. He would no doubt be furious, but... it is his world. He should know immediately. I would break it to him once he calls."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome worriedly called out to Inuyasha when she saw him fall suddenly. They had been walking on a narrow, wooden suspension bridge with Inuyasha in front of Kagome, when he suddenly groaned loudly and fell to his knees. He clutched his head in his hands, snarling to himself, as she approached him.  
  
She ran to him as quickly as she could while balancing on the wooden bridge. In her haste, she nearly fell off the deep ravine. Luckily though, she managed to hold on, but her quiver's strap chose to snap right then, sending all her arrows down the cliff.  
  
She knelt next to him, holding on to the ropes holding the creaking bridge. She glanced up at the now darkening sky as she tried to help him up.  
  
Inuyasha was dizzy. It was strange for a hanyou, but considering the fact that it was the new moon, it was to be expected. 'Damn, I hate the new moon!' he thought as he snarled angrily.  
  
He was exhausted, and that was probably why his head was spinning. He could usually handle a little exertion, but since it was his weak day, his present stamina couldn't handle what his normal hanyou body usually could. The fatigue he felt from the previous sleepless night, from running around Crystallia as he looked for that damn ookami the other day and everything else seemed to have up right then.  
  
He could feel his powers draining swiftly as the familiar transformation started. Kagome was holding his shoulders, struggling to pull him up. His mind was in a haze, but he felt his panic rise. It was almost dark, and he knew what would happen if he and Kagome stayed outside much longer. The youkai in the area would undoubtedly smell his transformation, and he doubted that youkai in Crystallia were any different from those in his own world.  
  
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Kagome asked him waves of fright washing over her mind. Inuyasha had collapsed! If she hadn't seen it with her own two eyes, she didn't think she would believe it.  
  
"Hai, genki desu. I was just... tired, I think. The fatigue is getting to me." Inuyasha answered weakly as Kagome helped him up. Truth be told, Kagome herself was tired and the sudden weather changes was making her dizzy as well, but Inuyasha?  
  
"Inuyasha, this has never happened to you before," she commented with plain worry as she helped him walk to the other side of the bridge. "You have been having bouts of exhaustion quite frequently! Are you sure you're ok?"  
  
"I told you, I'm fine wench! Now let's get out of here and into a cave or something! And I mean NOW!" Inuyasha snarled.  
  
Kagome just let it pass because he was sick, but as she glanced back at the hanyou braced on her own shoulders, she noticed something peculiar.  
  
'That's strange,' she thought. 'Is it just me, or have his claws gone... shorter? And not just that,' she thought as she looked up at his face. 'His eyes are a bit darker. His eyes as usually amber but now they're almost golden brown.'  
  
She wanted to ask him but thought better. He was edgy tonight. Better not risk it.  
  
As they reached the edge of the bridge though, Kagome tripped and fell to the ground, pulling Inuyasha with her.  
  
"Inuyasha, gomen! I... it's just that, you're heavy! Help me along here!" Kagome said pleadingly. Much to her surprise though, when she looked at his face, she realized that Inuyasha had somehow fallen asleep.  
  
"Inuyasha?" she called softly. She tried to pick him up off the ground without disturbing him or tripping again. As soon as she managed to stand upright again, she pulled him along, desperately trying to find a place for them to stay in for the night. She remembered the last thing he said, and knowing Inuyasha, he probably meant that there was danger.  
  
'A cave, a cave... dammit, where did all those caves go?' Kagome thought frantically. They were just beside the ravine and she looked up just to see that the sun had all but disappeared in the night sky.  
  
'Chikuso!' she swore in panic. 'It's dark! Night time seems to come for me wherever I go!' She hated to admit it, but Inuyasha's taunts the other day hit a nerve. She WAS afraid of the dark, and right now, with her only companion and sorta-bodyguard down for the count, she felt even more scared.  
  
"Kagome," a dry voice suddenly called. She turned to regard Inuyasha, whose face was completely hidden in shadows, the dark of the night making his hair look darker. Too dark. His hair actually appeared to be black.  
  
"Inuyasha, we'll be fine. I promise to find a cave real soon!" Kagome said, trying to sound cheerful. "Oh, look! There's one now!" she exclaimed as she made out a dark shape amongst the already dark horizon.  
  
"That's great," Inuyasha rasped, his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Hai! Just hold on, Inu!"  
  
"Inu... you called me Inu..." Inuyasha said before he fell asleep again.  
  
His lat remark made her stiffen. 'I hadn't meant to do that!' Kagome thought in surprise, before returning her full attention to the path towards the cave.  
  
"Ato sukoshi... just a little more!" she told herself when she was just a few meters away from the cave. Her rejoicing was cut short, however, when a low pitched snicker assaulted her ears.  
  
"Dare ka?! Who's there? Show yourself!" she shouted, dread filling her as she saw a large shape materialize out of the darkness. 'Why did I have to lose my arrows?'  
  
"Why hello there," the reptilian youkai who now stood before her grinned, showing her a mouthful of sharp fangs. The youkai took a deep breath, then his grin widened to the point that Kagome thought his face would split.  
  
"I can smell a hanyou's escaping youki," he said with a low snarl. He pointed to Inuyasha. "Ano otoko... hand him over."  
  
Kagome stood rooted to the spot. The youkai had just commanded her to hand Inuyasha over! 'No way in hell!' she thought bravely.  
  
"No way in hell, asshole," Inuyasha echoed her thoughts out loud, surprising her. She had thought he was unconscious!  
  
Inuyasha pushed her away from him, drawing his sword. Kagome could barely see him as he stood beside her in the pitch-black evening, but she did see something that alarmed her. She saw that as he drew his sword, the fang had still remained untransformed. His seemingly black hair covered his angry eyes as he stood bravely before the youkai, swaying slightly, his blade blunter than a wooden pole.  
  
Kagome was almost sure that if Inuyasha tried to fight under these strange circumstances, he would lose. Something was different about Inuyasha right then, and she would stop the impending fight as best as she could.  
  
Inuyasha was never one to back out of a fight, and Kagome knew it, so she did the only thing she could think of right then - she grabbed his arm, and RAN.  
  
Inuyasha was shocked, to say the least, but he ran along with Kagome anyway. She was sprinting at breakneck speed towards the cave that she had spotted, and Inuyasha sheathed his sword as they neared the cave.  
  
As they ran, Kagome noticed several youkai rushing toward them, swooping from the skies or rising from the ground. She was terrified, and shrieked in sheer terror when one of them grabbed her ankle and tried pulling her down.  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga again and tried to stab the offending youkai. The blade didn't transform, but the sword's unique barrier burned the youkai's skin away, forcing it away from Kagome.  
  
Inuyasha's head spun as he ran, but Kagome's face was so filled with desperation that he did his best to fight his discomfort. He ran quickly, nearly tripping over his own feet. He kept Tetsusaiga unsheathed, using it to bat away any youkai that came within range.  
  
Kagome was still holding tightly unto his arm, pulling him along as he furiously tried to hit the youkai. He had been right - once the damn youkai in the area felt his waning power, they came to try to absorb the escaping youki.  
  
"Inuyasha, it wasn't a cave! It's an empty cottage!" Kagome yelled, seeing as the house had no lights and activity, in a slightly squeaky voice. She was terrified, and Inuyasha hated the fact that he could do nothing about it. He just ran faster and felt relief wash over him as Kagome practically dragged him into the house. He dropped down onto the floor as Kagome ran in with him, panting like crazy.  
  
"The Tetsusaiga!" Kagome exclaimed, grabbing his sword and shoving it forcefully into the wood of the cottage door. The sword's barrier activated at once, making Kagome sigh in breathless relief.  
  
"We made it!" she yelled in triumph. "Thank the gods! Inuyasha, are you ok? Dang, where did those flintstones go?!"  
  
Inuyasha's face was against the hard floor. He slowly rose to his shaky knees as he heard the soft scratching sound of the flint.  
  
"Almost got it... there!" Kagome said happily when the fire she had been working on finally came to life. Kagome grinned widely before turning to Inuyasha.  
  
What she didn't expect though, was to see a long curtain of thick black hair shielding his face instead of silver. She only knew it was him because of his distinct clothes.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "Is that you?"  
  
"Who else would it be?" Inuyasha asked, lifting his head and staring at her through deep gray eyes.  
  
"Inuyasha, you're..."  
  
"Human," he finished for her, his dizziness still not waning. "I'm sorry if I'm about as useful as a glob of blueberry paste right now. It happens once every month for al hanyous. My time is on the first night of the new moon."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't notice you transforming because it was so dark, I can barely see you! So, this is why you haven't been yourself today!"  
  
"Yeah. My powers wane. Unfortunately, were not gonna be left alone. Everytime a hanyou's power wanes, youkai could easily come up and suck his escaping power."  
  
"That explains all the youkai chasing us!"  
  
"Yeah. I-" Inuyasha was cut off as they heard the sound of wood splitting. Kagome looked at him with horrified eyes and exclaimed.  
  
"The door! They're breaking down the door! We're trapped!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Again, I am soooo sorry for the damn delay. I was so upset about it, actually! It is NOT easy to squeeze this fic along with my studies, and I managed it in order to post early, and ff.net had the nerve to delay me! I had this fic typed down for ages, don't kill me for the late update, onegai!!!  
  
Here are the responses. Hey I just realized something: This site doesn't register some of my reviews on the page! I get them all on my email though, so no problem. But I'm upset because it makes it seem as if I have no reviews! DAMN!  
  
Reponses: (These are responses to my ff.net readers, not including the email reviews, etc.)  
  
LILMISSY^^: Hello there! Nice to see you again! Thanks sa 'good luck'. Fortunately ay wala pa naman akong ibinabagsak. LOL! You're a high school sophomore? Cool! If you don't mind my asking, what school do you go to? Sorry, I just get overly excited when a 'kababayan' reviews for me! Heehee. Oh, and I'm glad you liked my last chap. I was feeling kinda romantic at the time. ^_^ And I don't mind if your review wasn't that long - Besides, you reviewed TWICE! That's a whole lot better! And, I know how tough high school could be. All those wicked teachers giving you a ton of homework ng sabay-sabay! GODS! Thanks, and I hope you liked this chap as well!  
  
KERI-SAMA: I am extra glad that you like my fic! It really lifted my spirits from the descent it made when I was banned. But honestly, I didn't mean for this to be an MKR remake when I started writing. I didn't know the story of MKR, and only realized it when a certain reviewer (Laura-chan, I think) told me they were similar. I had to buy some MKR manga and read the plot on the net to find out how similar they were. But anyway, thanks for the compliments, and I hope you keep reading!  
  
KIYA1821: Oh hey, wow! Nice to 'see' you again! I got to read your other review and I'm very happy that you still review my work! Sadly though, 'Feverish' was deleted. Don't worry, it's up on mediaminer and adultfanfiction. It's not easy to get rid of me, lol! I hope you liked this chap as well. Thanks again, and please keep reading!  
  
AURORY: Thanks so much for the review! Anyway, I went to school a bit earlier than usual and I got accelerated a bit, so I'm here in college. Gaah! It's so hard to keep up with all the tall, gorgeous people around here, since I'm younger and I'm ONLY 5'3". Kagome's secret isn't really horrific, but it's something that could really hurt Inu, that's why she's upset. Anyway, please keep reading (and reviewing, lol!)!  
  
NO_ONE_IN_PARTICULAR: Hey, I like your name! Anyway, yeah, the Nissan is SUPPOSED to be mine, but it's like it's not, because I can't drive that well and so my dad won't let me. Darn. Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoyed this chap!  
  
WANNABE: I'm puzzled... who would you wanna be? I actually wanna be Shannon Sossamon or someone. Becoming Cristina Aguillera would be cool too... I'd rather be her than be Avril Lavigne. Anyway, yeah I live with my parents. Pathetic, ne? I still don't have enough money for my own house. Grrr. Thanks for the review!  
  
COOL!!!: Ne? Anyway, Kagome is feeling really guilty about keeping her true identity from Inuyasha in the first place, and when she found that he trusted her, she started feeling even worse. Kagura knows her from her old life and identity. It would hurt Inu because he trusts her and yet, she had been lying to him all this time. Gomen, I can't tell you, coz if I do, that would ruin the whole story for you! No more surprises. Would you like that? Thanks for the review!  
  
CHEANIE: Hello! How's the pregnancy? I hope Canada is treating you well. I heard that it could get really cold in there! About as cold as it is hot here in Southeast Asia. Anyway, no, I don't think so, but arigatou for the cookies anyway! *Does famous Shampoo impersonation* Hayaaaw! ScarletRaven is so happy for Cheanie-chan!  
  
VECTRA: A computer? Lol! Anyway, I had this big choir presentation. That's what I was talking about. It was last Sunday, and I was nucking fervous because I had a solo. I still haven't gotten over the nerve racks. ^_^ Anyway, yeah, this will be a lemon, but I'll post the lemon part on mm.org and aff.net so that those who don't wanna read it wouldn't stumble across it by accident. Thanks for the review!  
  
So there. Is that everybody? Did I miss anyone? Notify me if I did, please, coz if I did, it means that FF.net is fucking with me worse than I thought. To my email reviewers, check your inboxes and I'm positive you'll see me there!  
  
Thanks again, and please, REVIEW!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	11. Human Rumble

A/N: Hello! I'm back! Sorry for the huge delay. I had so much work to do for school lately that I barely have enough time to eat and sleep. T_T I just realized that I had been slacking with this fic when somebody threatened to kill me and burn down my house if I didn't update real soon. LOL!  
  
Anyway, I got so many reviews for the last chapter! Incredible! Thanks so much! WOW! I can barely breathe from excitement. Actually, that was my favorite of all the chaps I've ever written! I guess I left you guys hanging, ne? Gomen for that.  
  
I also noticed that many seem to think that Azalea is Kikyo. Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you guys (though a couple of people said that they would hate it if it were Kikyo), but it's not Kikyo. Kikyo isn't even gonna be in the story. I hate her that much, the slut.  
  
Anyway, enough of my ramblings and on with the ficcy!  
  
Disclaimer: Let's just put it this way: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic, ne?  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Human Rumble  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Yeah. I-" Inuyasha was cut off as they heard the sound of wood splitting. Kagome looked at him with horrified eyes and exclaimed.  
  
"The door! They're breaking down the door! We're trapped!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha tried to push up from his kneeling position on the floor, his hands holding his weight. He stared more intently at Kagome's ashen face.  
  
"Kagome," he began. His vision was slightly blurred and his head spun, but he tried to keep his voice steady. "The Tetsusaiga is blocking the door with its barrier. Those youkai can't get in as long as the barrier is there. Relax!"  
  
Kagome's expression eased a great deal. "Ah, gomen. I panicked," she replied with a shy blush staining her cheeks.  
  
"Baka," he said with a grin. Just then, a weak, rusty smell entered his nose. He tried to sniff around, but realized that he couldn't smell any better because he was human. Just when he was about to ask, Kagome let out a nearly inaudible gasp.  
  
He turned to her to find her staring down in apprehension. He followed her gaze and saw what was bothering her.  
  
"Kagome, your ankle is bleeding!" he said in sudden anger. 'How did she get wounded? I swear, I would kill the fucking bastard that did this!'  
  
"Ee." Kagome said, smiling hesitantly at him. "It must have happened when that land youkai grabbed me while we were running."  
  
"Land youkai?" he asked, then remembered the pesky monster that had tried to pull Kagome into the ground with himself. "Keh. I'm gonna kill that bastard once my powers return," he growled menacingly as he advanced towards Kagome. He grabbed her heavy bag from her and rummaged around, eventually coming up with a roll of bandage.  
  
"Oh, those are my arm bandages," Kagome said brightly, motioning to her right wrist. Inuyasha came closer, peeling off two long strips of the white bandaging cloth.  
  
Wordlessly, he took her foot in his hands. He pulled off her black shoes and looked more closely at the wound. It wasn't really that awful - just three short claw marks. One particular mark was deeper than the other two, as if whatever had wounded her had tried to dig its claws into her flesh.  
  
He snarled, then took out his self-filling flask and poured water on one of the bandage strips. He was still a bit dizzy, but what the heck? He wiped the dirt and blood off her foot with that piece of cloth, then, when he was satisfied that her wound was clean, began to bandage her ankle, careful not to hurt her any further.  
  
He wrapped the strip around her ankle, tight enough to stay intact, but not tight enough to cut off her circulation. He smiled as he took a once over at his handiwork, then turned to face Kagome.  
  
Kagome was blushing heavily, twisting her fingers together in an attempt to divert her attention from the man taking care of her wound. She was staring at the floor, wincing as the sound of the frantic youkai outside their door became louder. Her wound didn't hurt as much anymore - not with Inuyasha taking great care in wrapping it up.  
  
She blushed an even darker shade of red when he rose his gaze and met her eyes without any hesitation. He looked at her with a grin, and patted her wounded ankle affectionately. He turned away from her to put the roll of bandage back in her bag.  
  
'Gods,' Kagome thought as he tried to put her things back in order. 'Does he feel this way when I bandage his wounds up, too? Is his how it feels to have somebody look out for you though it is not his duty? Why is my heart beating so fast again?'  
  
Her musings were cut off when she heard Inuyasha groan. She looked over at him and blanched when she saw him holding his head in his hands, his face twisted in what appeared to be pain.  
  
"Inuyasha, doushite?" she asked, then it her.  
  
'Baka,' she scolded herself mentally. 'I nearly forgot how sick he was before we got here!' she thought as she neared him.  
  
"Inuyasha, daijobu? Is your head hurting you again?" Kagome asked, lightly touching his shoulder.  
  
"Hai," Inuyasha replied hesitantly. He had barely zipped her bag up when they heard another faint, cracking sound. Both turned to the door in alarm, but the door was standing as still as ever. Inuyasha was just about to sigh in relief when he heard it again, and realized that the sound came from a place much higher up. He turned his head towards the ceiling and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Naraku stood alone in the middle of an empty room, staring out into the dark skies beyond his window, remembering the day when Kagome first tried to attack Kagura. He had been watching Kagura with Kanna's mirror then, and Kagome struck him very well.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
Kagura was using her fans on the small village, demanding that they give her all their useful possessions, when an arrow whizzed by her, nearly hitting her left shoulder.  
  
"Who did that?" Kagura raged, raising her fans, when shock made its way to her face.  
  
"Azalea?" Kagura asked as she stared at the beautiful dark-haired woman before her. 'How did this happen? I was just in the dome room this morning, and she was crying her damn eyes out just then! How..."  
  
Naraku himself was surprised. "How did this happen?!" He asked aloud. "Azalea was in the prison dome just this morning!" He raged as Kanna shivered in fear.  
  
"I am not Azalea, bakayarou!" the archer said, a deep fire raging within her glassy gray/blue eyes. "Watashi wa Kagome desu. I have come to kill you, Kagura!"  
  
Kagura stared at the woman. "Me? Hah! Not likely. And what, pray tell, is your reason?"  
  
"Remember a little town in the west? You destroyed my village and brought hunger upon our town! And now you have taken the princess and brought unbelievable suffering upon us all! After I am through with you, I shall kill your bastard of a master, to avenge the death of my brother Souta!"  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
Kagura had retreated then after being wounded by Kagome. But even then, as he watched the fight, he was positive that Kagome was trying to hide something.  
  
That's when he started to form a plan. He was no fool, and being an ex- soldier of the imperial army, he knew that the princess would undoubtedly call for the aid of the legendary knight.  
  
Kagome was beautiful. He knew that all too well, and he knew that the knight was supposed to be a man. Maybe if he sent each of them to meet 'by chance', they would come together? Maybe... but it just might work.  
  
Nobody knows the end of the prophecy. The princess, herself, is only allowed to read certain parts every year, by law of Azalea primera. If he made the knight fall in love with the dixie liar, he could easily get to him.  
  
And that would be a great advantage. After that, he could easily kill his unwilling accomplice and do whatever he wanted with Azalea and the rest of Crystallia.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kanna ran hurriedly down the long halls of Naraku's palace, breathing sharply. There was a problem, and she needed to tell someone, fast.  
  
Kagura was exiting her room just then, and Kanna bumped unceremoniously against her. The white youkai fell to the ground, and Kagura was just about to scold her when she noticed the frightened worry on her sister's face.  
  
"Kanna, doushite? Is something wrong?" Kagura asked carefully.  
  
"Hai. Kagura..." she began in a soft voice. "It's about the princess..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
The dark was unnerving Miroku. Inuyasha hadn't called the entire day, and he knew that it was practically ritual for the hanyou to shout at him at least once every day.  
  
Sango was in her room, pondering what she could do, if there was anything, about the glitch in the portal. He could barely imagine Inuyasha's anger once he found out about what may happen to his world.  
  
Miroku tried reading through all the other books in the palace library, hoping to come across something useful. But it was impossible. Nothing contained anything that would help them clear the void in the portal.  
  
That settled it. Inuyasha would definitely kill him.  
  
Inuyasha had not really been all too willing to come with them. He had said things about his school and his mother, and apparently, both were very important to him. If he found out that he were to lose everything if he stayed a second longer, he would freak out.  
  
'Yup,' Miroku thought glumly. 'Better get some ear muffs handy. Inuyasha could get REALLY loud at times.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Nani, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha turned horrified eyes to the ceiling. She looked up and gaped as well.  
  
Muttered cursing was heard from Inuyasha as he fully understood what was going on. He turned to Kagome, his eyes hard as he practically blew steam.  
  
"Those damn youkai couldn't break down the door, so they decided to crush the entire house, starting from the ceiling!" he yelled, and Kagome blanched in fear.  
  
"Kuso," she muttered darkly. "Now what do we do? We can't just sit here and wait til the house crumbles!"  
  
"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "We'd better get out of here."  
  
"How? The front door is probably swamped by youkai. The roof is caving in, and the walls are falling apart!" Kagome screamed in panic when one long youkai arm pushed through the ceiling.  
  
"Don't fucking panic!" Inuyasha yelled in fury. "I have an idea."  
  
"Well, stop slacking! Out with it!"  
  
"If you'll fucking shut up, I'll tell you! The Tetsusaiga has some kind of barrier around it, right? I'll hold on to it's handle thingamajig, and I'll give you the scabbard. Listen!" he shouted when Kagome's eyes shot up towards the ceiling.  
  
"The scabbard also has a shield around it. I want you to hold it up towards the ceiling while I pull the tetsusaiga out and try to push through the door. I'll take care of the land assaults, you block us with this scabbard. Get it?" Inuyasha said, handing her the sword's sheath. Kagome nodded.  
  
"Kagome, answer me verbally, so I know you're still conscious!"  
  
"Hai, I get it!" she said in a voice shrill with fright. She held the sheath up towards the ceiling where the smaller youkai were trying to come down. She held the case towards the offending youkai, while Inuyasha grabbed her arm with one hand and pulled the tetsusaiga out with the other.  
  
As soon as Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga out, the barrier vanished, and he pushed roughly against the door, pulling Kagome with behind him. Man, adrenaline is really amazing! He rushed against the youkai blocking their exit, holding his rusty sword before him.  
  
He can hear Kagome struggling with the youkai that were rushing at them from above and behind while he used his own strength against the ones in front and below.  
  
"Why did I have to lose my god damn arrows?!" Kagome screamed in furious agitation.  
  
"This is not the time to bitch around about that! You can strangle yourself later for that," Inuyasha shouted as he struggled with more youkai. "But for now, concentrate on keeping us alive!"  
  
"I'm trying!"  
  
"Keep TRYING!" he yelled as a particularly large youkai stepped before him. He dodged one of its blows and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was supposed to be running to - he just knew that he HAD to keep running.  
  
Kagome was keeping up with his strides, albeit with a little difficulty. Even as a human he was stronger and faster, but Kagome was doing well enough. The fact that she was in panic probably helped her keep up, as well.  
  
"Why are they trying to kill you?! Why don't they just suck up your escaped youki and leave?" Kagome asked in strangled desperation.  
  
"Bakero! They can't suck in my powers without killing me!" Inuyasha tried to elaborate but didn't think it was practical to talk about something so trivial at a time like this.  
  
Inuyasha leaped up as an ugly youkai popped out of the ground right below him, pulling Kagome up with him. He was still dizzy, so when they landed back on the ground, he didn't land on his feet.  
  
Inuyasha fell face first onto the hard ground, bringing Kagome down with him. She fell on top of him, and she felt his grip loosen around her wrist.  
  
"Inuyasha, get up!" she screamed when she looked behind them and saw the youkai closing in on them.  
  
"Inu, they're gaining on us! Get up!" She tried to pull him up in a panic, but Inyasha just lay there.  
  
"Kagome," he began. "Run, onegai! Save yourself."  
  
"IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!"  
  
"Bakero! Listen wench, do you wanna die? Go!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
The youkai were nearly right behind them, and one of them raised a clawed hand, preparing to strike Kagome.  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled in fright and anger. Much to his surprise though, Kagome clenched her eyes shut and raised her right hand towards the oncoming monsters.  
  
Bright pink light seemed to seep out of Kagome's bandaged hand as she screamed. The strange light, which Inuyasha noticed was similar to the youki that she released in firing her arrows, shot out of her palm and straight at the demons closing in on them. The light burned away all the youkai that it touched, leaving only about half their original number coming at them.  
  
That done, she clasped her palms together and started a very soft chant. Inuyasha stared at her as she whispered inaudibly, the light never leaving her hand and wrist. At the very last moment, just when the remaining youkai were about to jump at them, the light from her hand spread out into an orb of light around the two of them. The monsters jumped back as they made contact, the barrier's surface burning their scaly skin.  
  
Inuyasha sat up and kept staring, his blurry vision fogging up even more at Kagome's sudden display of power. Never had he seen her doing anything like this, and why didn't she use that power in the first place?! She would have saved them a lot of running and exhaustion.  
  
Speaking of exhaustion, Kagome was looking a great deal paler after the whole ordeal, and she collapsed on his lap in a daze, her eyes closing. Inuyasha feared for a moment that the barrier would collapse once she lost consciousness, but luckily, it didn't.  
  
Some of the few remaining youkai had given up on them and left, while a few other much weaker ones stayed, clawing at the shield, getting nothing more than a few burnt knuckles.  
  
Inuyasha stared at Kagome as she slept. She was so beautiful. He had to physically restrain himself from leaning down and kissing her.  
  
'Is this love?' he asked himself in a daze as he brushed Kagome's sweat- dampened hair away from her face. He shook his head against his thoughts.  
  
'Baka. You can't love her! She's from another world!' he told himself, a familiar pain twisting his insides once again.  
  
'Why does that hurt so much?' he asked himself in frustration, staring off into the dark night. Her barrier kept them warm and comfortable, and he was so tired and dizzy, he just wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and curl around Kagome.  
  
'No!' he told himself firmly. 'I shouldn't fall asleep. I have to look after her. She did so when I was injured. Besides, she had protected me, she refused to leave my side even when I was so vulnerable.'  
  
* "IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!" *  
  
Inuyasha smiled at the thought of her words, when something occurred to him.  
  
'Matte... how did she know Sango?'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Sango sat up her bed in agitation. Inuyasha's world was going to crumble at the slightest mistake, she could do nothing about it, and her best friend was missing. Life is so fair, ne?  
  
'Dammit. What would I tell Inuyasha-sama?'  
  
She tossed in her bed. 'Fuck Naraku. If he hadn't taken hime-chan...'  
  
She held back a scream of anger as she lay back down on her bed with an angry flop. This was all Naraku's fault! Now her best friend was missing, and she was miserable.  
  
"Oh, kuso!" she muttered. "Kagome-chan, where are you?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well, that's it for chap 11! Wow, I can barely believe that I've reached 11 already! Doesn't time just fly by when you're having fun?!  
  
Again, ARIGATOU to all those who reviewed my previous chaps. I am ever grateful! Anyway, here are my responses to those wonderful people who reviewed last time.  
  
Reponses: (Email reviewers not included here)  
  
LITWOLF689: Im so sorry... I just realied that if I did that too soon, the story would be boring. But I revealed a lot already, ne? Thanks for the review.  
  
GUESHOO: WHOA! I'm glad you loved my story, but please, DON'T CRY!!! If there's a trait that Inu and I share it's that I hate tears. *Hands a couple of tissues over.* Here's the chap, feel better? And, I gotta hand it to you, one of your guesses was perilously close to what is really going on. Anyway, thanks for the review!  
  
DROW GODDESS: Hello! Long time no see! Of course I missed you, LOL! Anyway, thanks for the review, and here's the update! Ja!  
  
INUTORI: One in the morning? I could barely keep my eyes open at 11 pm! Anyway, thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review!  
  
ANIMEGIRL BREEZY: Don't worry, Kagome is not Kikyo. I'd hate myself if that ever happened. I'm sorry if I confused you. Actually, my own story is starting to confuse me! LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
EDWIN: Hi Hun. I think I know what happened to your account: you are over your storage limit, AGAIN! Delete some of those horny messages and it won't be fucked up. Anyway, you bet I was wishing! Thanks for the review. Hey, where's my puppy?  
  
SURFANGEL: Hi! I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
LUNEMANGELUS: WHOA! You left me *counts carefully* SIX reviews! Man! That's a lot! Anyway, Nope, Kikyo is not in the story, so she can't be related to Kagome, and it can't be a replay if the Inu-Kik disaster. Yup, this is my first story. You're basically Asian, too? Cool! English is my first language because my parents taught me that before they taught me our REAL native language, for the sole reason that we travel a lot. Strange, ne? And hey, good luck on finishing your fics! I'll read them when I have time. Haha. Thanks for the reviews!  
  
SMILEYGIRL322: I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
VEGITO044: Whoa, easy on the capslock! Anyway, don't panic! You'll find out real soon, I'm getting there. Maybe next chap, if I feel like it! Haha! Thanks!  
  
JUSTMEH: Thanks! I've updated! Thanks for the review!  
  
TRINA: Hello Kababayan! Haha. I'm a major Inu fan too. My mom actually thinks I'm obsessed, and with the frequency of my visits at Comic Alley, they actually gave me a discount card already! LOL! What's your author name? I'd love to read your stories! Anyway, thanks for the review!  
  
MIKOGURL: Hi! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!  
  
Well, that's it for my lengthy a/n! Again, thanks for the reviews, and please, read and review! I hope you all enjoyed this chap. By the way, this fic, along with my other fic, is posted on mm.org and aff.net under the same name. So there. Ja!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	12. Fury

A/N: Hello! I'm back (about damn time, wouldn't you say?)! I have been having an extra hard time lately, because school has been proving to be such a bitch. We were even asked to interview street dwellers for one of our classes, and my Humanities is clashing with NatSci. School sucks.  
  
And just to add fuel to the fire, ff.net won't let me upload my work! This chap should have been posted since Sunday, but ff.net won't let me!!!! I am sooo sorry for making you wait.  
  
Oh, and does anybody else, besides myself, think that my story is going too slow? If you do, please tell me in your reviews. I don't mind criticisms, honestly. I want to know what you guys think. I need your comments and suggestions.  
  
Anyway, here is the ultra long-awaited next chap. Enjoy! Please read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it. I never have, I never will, but I deal with it.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Fury  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome stirred slightly at the feel of gentle hands on her feverish cheeks. Her skin felt inflamed, her body numb and painful with near fatal exhaustion. She tried to open her eyes to see who induced the calming caresses, but her soreness didn't seem to permit her just yet.  
  
She wanted desperately to see and know who owned those fingers, though in the back of her mind, she was already quite sure about whom it was.  
  
Inuyasha.  
  
His long-fingered hands smoothed back a stray strand of her obsidian hair, pushing her dark locks away from her face. Kagome nuzzled his palm, suppressing a weak giggle as she heard his muffled gasp.  
  
Inuyasha, on the other hand, thought for all he was worth that the girl was still asleep. It was still quite dark and his powers had not yet returned, but her barrier of light surrounded and kept them warm like a cocoon.  
  
His human body needed sleep, but at the moment, he just didn't want to. Kagome was laying her head on his lap, looking innocent and beautiful, a thin layer of sweat on her brow. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes, and let out a tiny gasp when he felt her try to push her face up his palm.  
  
He smiled at that, and stared up at the slowly brightening sky. His fourteenth day in Crystallia was coming up, and he dreaded the daylight more than anything else. In only five more weeks, he would be out of here, whether he liked it or not.  
  
She was sweating a bit harder, so he decided to turn and find something he could wipe her face with. He muttered out a curse when he realized that they seem to have forgotten all about Kagome's bag during the previous night's fight.  
  
'Oh well,' he thought. 'It's probably back in the damn hut. I'll just try to find it and see if it wasn't crushed or anything.' He pulled his sleeve down and decided to use it as a makeshift hanky.  
  
He was patting her forehead dry when he saw her hand come up to rest on his own. He blushed, but couldn't bring himself to pull his hand away.  
  
He watched closely as Kagome lifted her head to look up at him. 'Damn those eyes,' he thought as she smiled up at him, her blue/gray eyes sparkling in glee.  
  
"Ohayou," he greeted with a small smile.  
  
"Ohayou," she smiled back. "Inuyasha, you're still... human."  
  
"Yeah. I go back to normal when the sun comes up. Sorry." He replied.  
  
"What on earth are you sorry for?"  
  
"Well," he began uneasily. "For one, I'm less scary and less likely to cause a stir when human, then I have to turn back. Me being human is more convenient, but I can't stop the change. Gomen. And though I'm more acceptable as a human, I'm not strong enough to protect you then. I'm worthless."  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome said with a smile. "I don't care what form you're in! Even if you say that a human you would be convenient. I like both of your forms! Besides, I'll miss your ears! I miss them now, you know?! And human or not, you're still my personal, legendary knight."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. Actually, I'm the one who should say sorry. I couldn't fight the youkai off last night. I couldn't protect and save you the way you do to me." She answered regretfully, turning her eyes away.  
  
"Keh. What are you talking about, wench? You did great last night! We would have died if you didn't do what you did! Those power blasts, and this shield... you were way cool!" Inuyasha said with a smirk. As Kagome looked up back at him though, something occurred to him.  
  
"Speaking of which... how did you do that?" he asked, watching Kagome's face blush with his question.  
  
"It's... um, well... you know what?" Kagome said as she suddenly got up from his lap. "You were so sick last night! The sun has yet to come up, so I'd bet you really need to sleep. We still have a few hours til dawn!" she exclaimed cheerfully, trying to push him down to the ground, pulling his head onto HER lap.  
  
"Demo, Kagome!" he exclaimed as she finally succeeded in pulling him into a sleeping position.  
  
"Oh, Inuyasha, you must be so tired! Staying up all night to watch me, it was so sweet of you, and I'm really grateful, but now it's YOUR turn for some shut-eye! Come on, close your eyes and sleep. I'll keep watch!" she said much too quickly and much too cheerfully.  
  
He was just about to protest when he felt her soft fingers cupping his warm cheeks. He was surprised, but tired as he was, the moment his head hit a soft surface, the drowsiness crept back up to him. His eyelids became heavy and he felt himself drifting off, Kagome's fingers bewitching him further into unconsciousness.  
  
Before he knew it, he was moving to find a more comfortable position, his head on her lap. He closed his eyes, and he found himself moving to clasp one of her hands in his own. She gasped softly, and he chuckled.  
  
'Screw my curiosity. I'm tired, and I doubt this would happen again anytime soon. I'm seizing it! I can always ask her again tomorrow.' He thought with a grin.  
  
Just for the fun of it though, before he succumbed to sleep, he said one last thing to her, trying to see if Kagome would get flustered.  
  
"Hey Kagome," he said drowsily.  
  
"Nande?"  
  
"You're really pretty when you're fighting." he slurred, feeling her stiffen in surprise. "And you know what? You smell really good too... like flowers..." he muttered, feeling himself finally drift off.  
  
"Nani!?"  
  
Kagome blushed scarlet at that last comment.  
  
'Well, he WAS half-conscious... demo... did he mean it?' she asked herself. Her heart was beating rapidly, as if desperately trying to break out of her chest.  
  
He was still clutching her hand, holding it so tightly, one would think his life depended on it. Her cheeks burned, the rapid pounding of her heart nearly making her nauseous.  
  
"Inuyasha," she murmured softly. "Inu... I hope you meant it," she said, smiling softly at his sleeping form as she brushed his bangs back and waited for the coming daylight.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Stop being nervous and get over it, Kanna! There's nothing you can do about it!" Kagura scolded her sister. Kanna had been near hysterics when she told Kagura of the problem.  
  
"Demo, Kagura... Naraku will be furious!"  
  
"I know. That's why we should keep it down. I've known about it for some time now. Why do you think I kept it secret for a long time? He doesn't need to find out." Kagura said with a smirk.  
  
"He is bound to find out sooner or later, Kagura. Let's inform him!" Kanna cried worriedly.  
  
"Bakero. I know he would, but I suppose it would be better if he found out on his own. He'll only blame and torture us if he finds out from US. Especially since I've known for so long. Once he realizes it, we can tell him that we had nothing to do with it!"  
  
Kanna was silent. "Is that truly the reason you don't wish to inform him, sister?"  
  
Kagura was shocked into silence. "Just what are you implying?" Kagura hissed.  
  
"I know you Kagura. You hate Azalea. You envy her with a passion, and don't you dare deny it. You envy her power, her influence, her being an uncontrolled being and her humanity." Kanna accused.  
  
"Urusai," Kagura said, feigning anger though her face had grown pale.  
  
"Not only that... you envy her because she has Naraku-sama's affections!" Kanna whispered in a deadly tone, her voice icy with accusation.  
  
"Shut up! Itsuwari... lies! You speak lies!" Kagura screeched, covering her ears.  
  
"You envy her because she is free while we are controlled by Naraku. You envy her because she is a human and we are but youkai born from anger and vengeance. And you know that if you had Naraku's love, you could make him set you free, but that would never happen because he loves HER!" Kanna added, her eyes boring into Kagura's.  
  
"URUSAI!!!" Kagura cried in hysteria, angry tears brimming in her eyes. She glared at her sister, before softly pleading. "Shizukani... kudasai... please, just stop..."  
  
Kanna stared at her sister. Kagura looked at her with a mixture of sadness, anger and guilt, her fists clenching into her kimono as she fell to her knees on the floor.  
  
"Hai, you're right," Kagura began. "I envied her. I hated her, and I wished for nothing else but to see her dead! Maybe this was why I never told Naraku. But I'm also scared, Kanna. I don't want us to... to..."  
  
Kanna shook her head as she approached her sister. She placed a hand on Kagura's shaking shoulders and whispered, "It's alright. I understand. I envy her too. We could keep this a secret, alright?"  
  
Kagura looked up at her sister, surprised. 'Her too?' she thought, before nodding.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha walked steadily across the field, annoyed. It was late in the afternoon, and Crystallia's unusually scorching hot sun burned every inch of his skin. Now Crytallia had always been hot, but the heat right then was incredible! Even stranger, there was grass growing in the place where they presently strolled. He had never seen green grass in Crystallia!  
  
He glanced back at Kagome, who was lagging behind him, a heavy bag slung on her shoulders.  
  
It had been two days since the morning when he woke with his head on Kagome's lap, refreshed after his nap as a human. He had tried asking her about her sudden powers on his human night, but the girl always managed to dodge his questions.  
  
He was pissed. 'Where the hell did she get those powers? How is it that she knows Sango? And WHY won't she fucking tell me?! Doesn't she trust me or something? I've proven myself loyal to her a lot of times. I think I deserve an answer!' he fumed.  
  
"Why is it so fucking HOT!?" he suddenly screamed to the dry sky, making Kagome jump in surprise.  
  
"Inuyasha! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she scolded.  
  
"I'm roasting here, Kagome! Why in the seven hells does this land have such sudden weather swings?! Yesterday it was so fucking windy..." he said, but trailed off as an image flashed into his mind. He grinned, looking back at a blushing Kagome, who was smoothing her skirt down self-consciously.  
  
"I know what you're thinking, Inuyasha. That would NEVER happen again, you hear me!" she shouted in indignation. The previous day had been so windy, her already short skirt flew way up while she was bending over her bag in front of Inuyasha, giving the hanyou a full view of her underwear and smooth upper thighs. Her hands got caught in her bag in her panic, and she fought the straps for a few agonizingly embarrassing moments before she was able to pull her skirt back down.  
  
"Keh! It wasn't my fault that you weren't wearing shorts!" he replied with a smirk.  
  
"I told you, I don't know what shorts are!"  
  
"Well, you still can't blame me for staring. I was surprised," he said in defense.  
  
"Whatever," Kagome said in embarrassment, her cheeks inflamed. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah - don't shout like that! I nearly jumped out of my clothes!"  
  
Wrong choice of words, Kagome.  
  
Inuyasha suddenly got an uncharacteristically lecherous grin on his face at her last comment. He suddenly got a mental picture of Kagome literally jumping out of her clothes, landing back on the ground with her arms crossed over large, round breasts. She was smiling shyly, her blush crawling to her arms and chest from her cheeks, making her look like a goddess to Inuyasha.  
  
Kagome noticed her companion's grin and blushed more deeply.  
  
"HENTAI!" she yelled shrilly, clenching her fists in embarrassment.  
  
"WHAT?! What'd I do this time?" Inuyasha demanded, the grin still on his face.  
  
"You were grinning, and only the gods know what you were thinking!"  
  
"I wasn't doing anything! Aren't I even allowed to grin anymore?" he pressed.  
  
"Hmmph! Pervert!"  
  
Inuyasha laughed loudly before catching himself. Even Kagome turned back to look at him.  
  
'I just laughed really loud! Man, that's... strange,' he thought. He barely laughed around his friends, always just his grumpy self around everybody else. He hardly even smiled, for Kami's sake.  
  
Just then, it occurred to him: he HAD been smiling a lot more often since he met Kagome. Maybe she was the reason why he had been so cheerful lately. Her cheerful spirit must have been rubbing off on him.  
  
Normally, he would have been surprised, even angered at this realization, but he then figured that he didn't mind at all. He liked the feeling of having a piece of her within him, even if it was subconsciously.  
  
"Now what are YOU staring at?" he asked the ogling Kagome with a smirk.  
  
"Nothing," she replied.  
  
"Good!" he said, before remembering that he hadn't called the palace for three days.  
  
'Baka,' he thought, stopping in his strides to pull out his amulet.  
  
Kagome noticed, and before she realized it, she said unconsciously, "Oh, that's right, you haven't called Miroku-sama for quite some time now."  
  
Inuyasha was shocked, but Kagome didn't seem to have noticed that she just said that aloud. She just flopped down on the ground, sorting through her things.  
  
"Kag... you... you KNOW Miroku?"  
  
Kagome suddenly paled, then looked straight at him, trying to contain her anxiety and shielding it with a smile.  
  
"Oh, well, yeah! I hear his name from you whenever you talk to him!" she said.  
  
"Oh right," he replied testily. "And I assume that you also heard Sango from me?"  
  
Kagome kept her smile. "Actually, yes! I don't really know them both!"  
  
"Oh," Inuyasha said suspiciously. "But I recall you saying something about her being a taijiya?"  
  
"Well, yeah! She is, I think I heard it from you, too!"  
  
"That's funny," he said, now positive that she was hiding something. "Coz you couldn't have heard it from me, because I DIDN'T know that she was a taijiya!"  
  
Kagome paled even worse. 'Shimatta,' she thought. 'Now I've done it! Great. Just great! How could I have been so stupid! Kagome no baka!'  
  
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, making it clear to Inuyasha that there was something she wasn't telling.  
  
"It's ok, tell me later," he said as Kagome simply blanched. "Tell me HOW you know Sango and Miroku after I talk to the monk on the amulet, ok?"  
  
Kagome was considerably greener by now. 'Fuck,' was her last thought before she saw him call out the hentai houshi's name.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"I still think that he is deliberately torturing us, Sango-sama," Miroku commented to the anxious ex-taijiya. He tried to appear calm about it, but like the woman before him, he was worried. "Come on, Sango-sama, calm down! It's only been, what, three days? I'm sure he's fine!"  
  
"Houshi-sama, no matter what you say, I'm still worried! Besides, we still have to tell him about the glitch!" Sango barked, making Miroku wince a bit. "It almost seems as if the gods want us to suffer."  
  
"Sango-sama, have you forgotten? On his first week here, Inuyasha forgot all about the amulet. Perhaps he just forgot to call us again." He said, trying to placate her.  
  
Sango sighed. "I hope so. But I'm scared of how he will react when he finds out about the glitch. He will be so mad! We promised him that his world would remain untouched, remember?"  
  
"His world is still untouched. He just has to hurry it up."  
  
"His world is in grave peril, Houshi-sama," she interjected. "I don't think..."  
  
"THE AMULET!" Miroku suddenly shouted. "He's calling!"  
  
"Wonderful! Or not..."  
  
Miroku hurriedly pulled the amulet out of his robes, almost shouting in relief. "Inuyasha! We're so glad you called! Now... WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN CALLING US?!"  
  
"By Kami, Miroku, don't scream at me! My ears are so fucking sensitive! I got in some trouble and I just got out yesterday. Forgive this humble fucking hanyou's fucking idiocy." Inuyasha snarled in a voice filled with sarcasm.  
  
"Ahh, gomen, Inuyasha-sama! We were just worried! Are you ok now?" Miroku said as Sango gasped.  
  
"Yeah, I'm damn fine. I'm in a weird valley right now. I crossed this bridge that connected a really bad ravine the other day. I have no idea what this place is called, so don't ask."  
  
"Weird valley? What makes it weird?" Sango suddenly inquired, looking over Miroku's shoulder at him.  
  
"Well," Inuyasha began. "For one, it is so fucking hot. Secondly... well, this would sound funny, but... this place actually has GRASS all over it."  
  
Right then, Sango decided to take the amulet from Miroku. "Hot and grassy, you say? Well then... do you remember passing through a horribly windy plain before you got there?"  
  
Inuyasha suddenly got a strange grin on his lips, accompanied with unremorseful blushing. Sango was puzzled.  
  
"Hell yeah! I passed that place. Why?"  
  
"I think I might know where you are. Congratulations, Inuyasha-sama! You are now nearly half-way to the Garnet tower!"  
  
"NEARLY halfway? Dammit, I don't know if I should be glad or not! We've been traveling for two weeks now, and I'm only halfway?!" Inuyasha exclaimed.  
  
Now, Sango had very good hearing. "Inuyasha-sama, what do you mean, WE?"  
  
Inuyasha paled suddenly. "Nothing. It was a damn grammar mistake. Now tell me what's up in there."  
  
It was Sango's turn to go pale. She glanced back to Miroku and saw him holding out his hand. He knew that she could never bring herself to tell him. He had to do it himself.  
  
Miroku took the amulet and stared intently at the puzzled knight. He breathed in deeply, summoning his courage.  
  
"Inuyasha, we... I regret to tell you that... your world may be in danger," he said.  
  
Inuyasha visibly stiffened. "What do you mean, my world is in danger?"  
  
"I'm sorry. It was when we passed through the portal on our way here. We seem to have made a glitch in the dimensional portal. The glitch made it so that if you stay here even a second longer than the original seven weeks, your world would be destroyed." Miroku explained slowly, afraid of the hanyou's reaction. The said hanyou just stared at him in shock.  
  
"Are you... sure?"  
  
"Hai. Gomen nasai, Inuyasha-sama. I... I didn't know it was possible."  
  
Miroku stared at the heavily breathing knight. Inuyasha was staring beyond the amulet, his eyes unseeing. Miroku nearly jumped in terror when Inuyasha looked back at him with amber eyes that spelled murder.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha was dumbfounded. He stared off as the news sunk in, not knowing what to do. Kagome, who could hear the conversation quite clearly, had sucked in a breath in horror at hearing this. HE could just stare in desperate agony.  
  
'My world... my mom... my friends... everything and everyone I know! They would all be destroyed!" At this realization, his desperation quickly faded into pure fury.  
  
He glared at Miroku, who cowered at his anger. Inuyasha could practically hear the monk's erratic, quickened heartbeats.  
  
"How could you fucking let this happen?!" Inuyasha demanded in a soft yet deadly voice. "You PROMISED me that my world would be safe!" Inuyasha yelled as he snapped, sweat running down his forehead. "I agreed to help you out. I'm risking my fucking NECK to save your wench, and you couldn't even do your part in keeping my world away from danger?!"  
  
"Inuyasha-sama," Sango's voice chirped from behind Miroku. "It is only a threat if you stay away from your world longer than seven weeks! If you come back on time..."  
  
"That is not the fucking point!" he raged. "You said nothing would happen, no matter what! And now you're saying that everything and everyone I care for will disintegrate in a fucking flick! What if I can't rescue your wench on time? What if I get held as prisoner and not be able to escape until it's too late?! My world will die!"  
  
"Inuyasha-sama, please calm down! We will be coming over to help you in a few days, to ensure that you and your world will be safe. That way, you can never go past the designated time." Miroku said quickly.  
  
"Well you'd better be fucking sure about that! I only have less than five weeks, and I'm only halfway." Inuyasha said, not calming down in the least.  
  
"We promise not to let anything happen, Inuyasha-sama," said Sango.  
  
"Good," Inuyasha said, before abruptly hanging up. He abruptly turned to Kagome, who was clearly shocked at his furious behavior.  
  
"Inuyasha... I'm so sorry..."  
  
"It's nothing, wench." He said, before suddenly slumping down on the ground.  
  
"Inuyasha, daijobu?" Kagome asked softly, hoping he wouldn't snap at her.  
  
"My world is about to crumble, I'm only halfway to the princess, and I just realized that I have to turn human one more time during this quest. Yeah I'm fine. I am so god damn FINE!" he shouted in frustration.  
  
Inuyasha neglected to mention the other reason why the news pissed him off. Strictly seven weeks or less... that meant seven weeks or less with Kagome. Sixteen days down, thirty-three days to go.  
  
"And now I nearly told them about you," he said softly. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Inuyasha, it's ok! Don't be mad anymore! I'm sure everything will turn out fine. Now, we have a very long way to go, and time is just NOT on our side. If I were you, I'd set out every chance I get!" Kagome said cheerfully. "We have yet to pass the toughest parts of Crystallia, so we'd better get going!"  
  
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome's bright face. 'Kirei,' he thought, before standing and taking her bag from her with a hand.  
  
"You're right. Let's go."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: That's it for my chap! I know you guys are probably insulting my mother right now for that pointless chap, but oh well... I guess I deserve it!  
  
Sorry AGAIN for the long update. TO make up for it, I'll post the NEXT chap earlier, probably on Saturday. Fair enough? Hope so.  
  
And gomen to everyone for my mistake about Inu's human eyes in chap10. I actually forgot what his original human eye color is, so I put deep gray, because *I* like guys with deep gray eyes. *sweatdrop* Gomen.  
  
Here are my responses to all my wonderful (ff.net) reviewers, by the way.  
  
Inutori: Hi! I'm glad that you liked my last chap and my storyline. Sorry for taking so long. You know how ff.net sometimes won't accept updates. It reeks. I was actually half-expecting a well to sprout out of my backyard anytime now. Anyway, thanks for the review. Ja ne!  
  
LiLmissy^^: Wow kabayan, those were two VERY long reviews! Possibly the longest ones I ever got. Salamat for taking the time to review. I'm glad to know that you check my fic whenever you go visit ff.net. I'm also very glad that you liked my previous chap. Gusto ko rin yun sa lahat ng ginawa ko e, lol! Sorry at natagalan tong update. Agree ako - gago ang ff.net. Dapat nung Lunes pa ko naka-update, kaso nag-overload nanaman. Grrr. Kikyo the walking claypot, lol! You're from ESLR - Sucat? Cool, I'm not too far from you! I actually live in Cavite, but I go to the University of the Philippines - Manila. Dun lang ako sa Taft Avenue nagpe-penitensya, este, nag-aaral. Pareho tayong may mga teacher na demonyo. Lol! Again, thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoyed this chap! Ja ne!  
  
Vegito044: It's ok, really. I use the caps a little too often when I review, too! I'm glad you liked the previous chap! Sorry for the late update. FF.net just gave me its usual load of b**ls**t. Her secret will be out soon, don't worry! Thanks for the review! Ja!  
  
SurfAngel: You think she's the real one? Hmm... maybe, maybe not. Haha! Thanks for the review!  
  
Taina: *Blushes.* Wow, thanks! I'm glad you enjoy my work. Thanks for the review!  
  
EJ: No cheating! I'm not telling you anything! ^_^ Thanks hun!  
  
LitWolf689: Yeah, I guess my story is a bit confusing. I'm starting to clear things up though, so PLEASE stay tuned! Thanks for the review!  
  
Guesshoo: I've updated! ^_^ *Thinks for a moment* Hey, that's not weird at all! I actually laugh when I'm sad, and cry when I'm angry. And hey... cool signature! Thanks for the review!  
  
Mikogurl: I won't leave you hanging, don't worry! LOL! I'm glad you like my fic. Thanks for the review!  
  
Justmeh: I've updated! Harharhar!  
  
Trina: Ang layo ng Megamall sa bahay ko e! I usually go to either SM Southmall, SM Bacoor or Robinson's. Don't say that your fics are bad, I'm sure your stories are great! Tayo pa, e mga Pinoyz tayo! Hehe! Thanks for the review! Muwaah!  
  
Alexis: I'm glad you like my fic! And about Kikyo, her whole turn-human-and- go-to-hell-with-me bit REALLY pisses me off! I'm happy to know you hate the whore as well. You're welcome! Thanks for the review!  
  
There goes another one of my insanely long A/N's. anyway, as I always say, please read and review and to those who did, thanks for the reviews! Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	13. Pains, Wishes and Hidden Identities

A/N: Hehehe... Gomen to everyone. I know I said I would post earlier but... hehe... my professors, whom I SWEAR could have been descendants of Satan if he ever had kids, swamped me with sooo much work along with half a dozen exams. I think they hate me. Not just me... they hate all students. Or, they are probably doing this as payback to their former professors. Dammit, why take it out on me?!  
  
I also seem to have a damn bug in my computer. I can't open a certain file of mine, and that's bad, coz that particular file is my Humanities homework! I tried everything to open it, but it just remains sealed. DAMMIT! I had to re-type the entire folio, thanks to the merciless heavens. Gods, what did I do to deserve this!  
  
Anyway, thanks to all those who read reviewed my previous chaps. I just love positive feedback! Thank you all so much!  
  
Here's my next chap. An extra long one to make up for my long absence. Not just that... secrets are revealed in this chap. Yes, secrets about Kagome.  
  
Anyway, enjoy reading!  
  
Disclaimer: Does anyone even bother reading these things? I do not own Inuyasha, dammit!  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Pains, Wishes and Hidden Identities  
  
-----/---@  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"How much longer, Sango-chan? I'm tired of sitting here!"  
  
Sango looked down at her best friend and smiled at her aggravated look. Sango was brushing her friend's long hair gently, counting off the number of brush strokes. Her friend was seated before the rich vanity closet, with Sango on a higher stool behind her to be able to reach the top of her head.  
  
"Not much longer, tomo-ko," she said, pausing in her task. "We're now down to a meager two hundred strokes more!"  
  
"Nani?" her friend asked incredulously, looking over her shoulder at her. Sango was about to continue with the brush when her best friend held her hand back. "Enough, onegai. We'll stop now, and we'll do twelve hundred tomorrow to make up for it. And before you say anything, I KNOW that that's not logical, " she said as she turned to face the laughing Sango.  
  
"Why, you're quite impatient today, Kagome-chan!" Sango giggled, but stopped when Kagome frantically waved her silent.  
  
"Not so loud, Sango-chan! You know that you're the only one who could call me that! It's not allowed!" she said in a hurried whisper.  
  
"Oh, oh, gomen nasai! I almost forgot!" Sango replied with a grin.  
  
"Mou, Sango!" she scolded her friend lightly before her face suddenly turned serious. "Sango-chan," she began. "Do you really have to leave next week?"  
  
Sango let out a soft sigh. "Hai. I do. You KNOW I do. But it's not as if you'll never see me again!"  
  
"Hai, I know. Demo, I'm really gonna miss you, tomo-ko. You're my only friend, the only girl I can talk to in this mansion," she added, twisting a bunch of the cloth of her long white skirt in her hands.  
  
"I'll miss you too," Sango replied, leaning down to take a lock of her friend's long, ankle-length hair in her hand. "I wish I had hair as wonderful as yours."  
  
Kagome sighed. "Oh Sango. I wish I had a star mark that's like yours."  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
Sango stared glumly ahead as she recalled one of her more memorable encounters with her best friend. Kagome had been acting so glumly then, always saying that she wished she were a palace warrior or an adviser as her friend was. Sango, on the other hand, said that she wished for nothing else than to have Kagome's fate instead. What her friend found desirable in being an adviser when she had something better, she would never know, but Kagome did.  
  
'Fate is funny,' she thought glumly. 'I want to be Kagome; she wants to be me.'  
  
But Sango lately realized what she had that her friend didn't, and why she didn't want her own gift. 'Maybe, I am luckier,' she thought. Kagome had always kept a smile on her beautiful face, but Sango noticed that, when unguarded, Kagome's eyes took on a sad glint that no one else but she noticed.  
  
A knock on her door startled Sango out of her reminiscing. "Come in," she said, not even bothering to look in the direction of her slowly opening door.  
  
"Sango-sama," a low voice called.  
  
She turned to see a very tall guard with his short hair in a high ponytail looking at her. She recognized him quickly as the diseased Souta's best friend.  
  
"Hai?" she asked.  
  
"Miroku-sama is calling for you. He is waiting in the garden. He wishes to speak with you about something important," the guard said slowly.  
  
"Alright. Thank you, Takeda. Tell him I will be right down."  
  
The guard, Takeda, slowly turned to leave and closed the door. 'What could Miroku possibly want now?' she asked herself as she put on her palace attire.  
  
Sango left her room then, and walking at a very slow pace, approached the gardens. She took in her surroundings as she walked, noticing that everything, indeed, remained glum and passive since the abduction of "Azalea-chan".  
  
She turned her gaze skywards as she stared at the ceiling. The once golden trimmed white crystal panels had turned rather dirty and bronzed. Even the garden, where she used to spend many a time sitting in to take in the beauty of nature, looked dry and abused. As she neared the patch of land where Miroku usually sat on, she found herself staring at the houshi's back.  
  
Miroku was staring off into space, as if completely lost in thought. Whether he sensed or heard her coming, he made no indication of it.  
  
"Sango-sama," he began, letting Sango know that her presence had been acknowledged. "Do you know the mystery of the ruling in this land?"  
  
Sango was surprised. 'Now what's wrong with him?' she asked herself before sitting down beside the troubled monk.  
  
"The time for me to know has not come yet, Houshi-sama. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because I'm confused and need some answers," he replied, looking at her for the first time. "But to have my answers I need the counsel of one other who knows of the ruling."  
  
"Then that means I cannot help you, doesn't it?" Sango asked. She was really implying that she was as curious as hell about the said "mystery".  
  
"That is why I decided to tell you of some things. I need your answer to my question," he sighed before smiling slowly.  
  
"Sango-sama, you do know that every incoming princess ascends the throne at the age of ten, and descends at seventy? Each one rules for around sixty years," he asked. Sango just nodded.  
  
"I have always found it quite odd, you know. I always thought that ten is such a young age, but knowing Hime-sama has gotten me to think twice. Aza- chan ruled us perfectly despite her youth." Sango answered.  
  
"Hai. I agree. Our Azalea has been wonderful." Miroku stated. "You do know why I called her OUR Azalea, don't you?"  
  
"Hai. I do."  
  
"Wonderful. All chosen princesses leave their old lives behind, including their names, to take on the undying identity of the past princess. They take on the name Azalea and live in solemn solitude for the rest of their lives. The gods then choose the next princess when the princess turns sixty, so someone could ascend once she turns seventy. The new Azalea is marked before she even leaves her mother's womb. Same goes for the palace guards and magic advisers," Miroku said, looking to Sango to see if she understood. She was nodding.  
  
"Ee. I knew some of that. What else is there?" Sango asked hesitantly.  
  
"The princess and her advisers, you and I in this case, cease aging once they reach their prime. The guards continue to age and are "replaced" once they reach forty-five. The three main palace dwellers, however, ascend to be with the Gods once they hand their power over to the next princess and advisers." Miroku continued.  
  
"Meaning that we have no choice but to die once we are replaced. Cheerful, ne? But it would be fine since seventy is already quite old," Sango smiled wryly at the thought.  
  
"Right. Which leads me to my question. Common folk say that being marked with the star is a blessing but... all we actually gain is a lonely life and sudden death," Miroku said with a sardonic smirk. "Is it fair? We spend all of our lives going on like this, sacrificing ourselves for something we did not even choose, and all we get in return is... nothing."  
  
Sango was concerned. "Houshi-sama, what made you think this way about our fate? You used not to care about it!"  
  
Miroku stared at the ground in disdain. "I just thought of it when I realized that we never actually got anything done. That and," Miroku cut himself off.  
  
"That and what?"  
  
Sango gasped when Miroku turned intense eyes her way. "That," Miroku said, "And that I would never be given the chance to love, and to be with her whom I love. After all the pain and hardships we have to go through, we are only left to die! We aren't even given the chance to do the things that we want to do."  
  
Sango was surprised at Miroku's glum outlook of the way they would end up. She never would have thought that the cheerful monk held such bitterness within him.  
  
"Houshi-sama," she began cautiously. "Do you regret being taken in as an adviser?"  
  
Miroku just shook his head. "No, Sango-sama. But I have been troubled for long. I don't want to die a useless man!"  
  
"Houshi-sama, what you do is noble! You would never be considered useless, you hear me? I know that our lives are full of trials and pain but, it would all be worth it!" Sango desperately pleaded. "We are still lucky because... well, at least WE can marry someone we love, even though the choices are limited, and we have to continue our duty til we die. Aza- chan..." Sango trailed off as she realized why she was still lucky. "Aza- chan isn't even allowed that luxury. No one can touch her. She is to be lonely all her life!"  
  
Miroku looked at his companion... his love. The reason he was pissed was because there was hardly any chance of him being happy with her.  
  
"Perhaps I am blinded, Sango. But you are right. I should lighten up."  
  
Straightening up to leave, Miroku cast a last glance at Sango. She was looking at him with an almost unreadable expression.  
  
"And before I forget," he said, turning away from her to walk back to the palace. "The barrier could be lifted in ten days or less."  
  
He left her sitting in the garden, mulling over her words and wondering how and whether he should confess his love for her anytime soon.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Two figures stood before a lone phantom in the dark depths of the room. One of the figures was almost luminous, while the other nearly blended with the darkness of the chamber.  
  
"Do you understand what I am trying to make you do?" the phantom asked of the two beings.  
  
"Hai... demo, are you positive that she holds what we seek?" the brighter of the beings asked back. The phantom just grinned.  
  
"Aa, I am. With that power, you two can join your forces to become one powerful youkai. Are you sure you wish to go through with it?"  
  
"Anything for the power, Naraku-sama," the darker being answered. "We will kill this Inuyasha, and take the girl."  
  
"Good. Now go."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha, what do you think of this one?" Kagome asked, holding up a sprig of parsley that she had just stolen from a nearby field.  
  
"That's nice," Inuyasha replied without even looking at her.  
  
Kagome threw the herb down in exasperation. She understood his depression and anger over the danger his world was in, but this was just absurd!  
  
"Inuyasha!" she shouted at him, finally making him turn to her.  
  
"What the fuck are you shouting for, wench?!" Inuyasha yelled, rubbing his abused ears.  
  
"What do you mean what am I shouting for?!" Kagome screeched. "You've been acting all detached for the past two days! Get over it, Inuyasha! You're attitude has been slowing us down! If you don't hurry up before your seven weeks is up then your world really will vanish! We hardly covered any distance since the day you heard the news from Miroku-sama! You're not helping!"  
  
Inuyasha stared at her in guilt. He had to admit, he was being a dumbass again, but he couldn't help but worry about his mother, his friends and even his asshole brother. Shit, he was almost worried about his teachers!  
  
"I can't help it, bitch! It's hard not to worry about my world when I know that the slightest mistake could prove fatal!" he snapped.  
  
"That's exactly my point, baka! Your slacking is THE fatal mistake. You take long in here and your world disappears! Don't you get it?" Kagome yelled in irritation, before a small, sad frown graced her lips. "Even if it means that you have to leave sooner... we have to hurry if we are ever to finish this quest before your seven weeks is over."  
  
Inuyasha stopped walking to regard her carefully. Kagome was still murmuring softly, but he could hear her very clearly.  
  
"I have no idea how Miroku managed to mess the portal up while he was with Sango. They are well trained! I don't get it! They are incredible at their work!" she was whispering to herself.  
  
"I can hear you, you know," the hanyou remarked dryly, making Kagome stiffen.  
  
"Oh... haha... don't mind me, I was just talking to myself."  
  
Inuyasha suddenly remembered something that he had been dying to ask since the new moon night. About Miroku and Sango...  
  
"Kagome, how did you..."  
  
He cut himself off when he felt a strange presence nearby. It was queer indeed... the feeling of being watched was nearly tangible, but Inuyasha could not smell anything. He just felt the odd presence surrounding him and Kagome. Kagome herself had suddenly stiffened.  
  
"Inuyasha... something's very wrong..." Kagome said, glancing over at Inuyasha to see if he felt it. He just nodded.  
  
Inuyasha and Kagome now stood stock still, trying to reach across the field with their senses. Inuyasha took a tentative step forward, but froze when he heard the ground crack beneath him.  
  
He lightly tapped the ground with his foot, noticing for the first time the hollow sound that resonated from the ground. It was as if he had just stepped on the wooden floors of the third floor of his own house.  
  
"Inuyasha, we're standing on thin ground, aren't we?" Kagome asked, panic rising in her voice. She tried not to move a muscle, afraid of what she may find beneath the ground. The thought of being swallowed up by land just did not settle with her.  
  
"Aa... I think so..." Inuyasha growled softly.  
  
"What are we gonna do? Should we run for it?" Kagome asked anxiously. The hanyou just shook his head.  
  
"No... The ground is too thin. We make one wrong move and we're sure to fall through. Maybe we should do it slowly-" Inuyasha suggested, when they heard a sound that resembled cracking twigs from behind them. Both turned around cautiously, only to find the thinnest being neither of them had ever seen standing but a few meters away.  
  
"A ground youkai," Kagome said softly, not taking her eyes off the demon before them. The demon had long, dry wiry hair and parched earth-brown skin. Large eyes that were completely dark stared at them through its bangs above a lipless thin mouth. It was dressed in something akin to mud-dipped rags and its long, thin arms ended in a whip-like form and her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.  
  
Both flinched slightly when the youkai pointed a whip-ended arm at Kagome. "Teme..." it said in a cracking, dry voice. "Naraku-sama says that you have the power... give it to me," it ordered. Inuyasha stared at Kagome questioningly, only to find that Kagome was not even looking at him. She was staring at the youkai with horrified eyes and mouth agape.  
  
"I... I don't know what you are talking about," Kagome shouted though she was visibly pale by then. The youkai noticed this and began laughing in his same dry tone.  
  
It flicked one of its arms, letting out a sound much like a lashing whip. Another youkai appeared beside him at the signal.  
  
Kagome had never seen a youkai like this one, and was shocked when Inuyasha let out a very soft growl. She glanced at him questioningly, and saw him seething.  
  
"Teme... I don't know what fucking kind of youkai you are but... Naraku sent you, didn't he?!" he snarled, making the new youkai grin. This one had a misty body and was clothed in a flowing white kimono. Its pale blue eyes were flecked with gold and it held a large crystal ball in one hand.  
  
"Good guess, hanyou," the luminous youkai said in an airy voice. It turned to Kagome. "Now, give me the power."  
  
"I told you, I have no idea what you are talking about you stupid asshole!" Kagome screeched in panic.  
  
'What is he talking about?' she asked herself as both youkai advanced on them. 'I do not have any sort of power except for my holy powers! I sealed off the rest!'  
  
"You lie, miko," the earth youkai answered, the roots that were his feet extending to reach them both. Inuyasha started to take a step backward when he felt the ground start to give out under him. Kagome seems to have been in the same situation.  
  
"Don't even try to run, knight. If you don't want to fall through," the translucent youkai said. "But we tell you one thing: give us what we want and we won't bother you again."  
  
"I told you, jackass! I don't know what you are talking about!" Kagome protested. Something wasn't right... she could feel a strange power coming from beneath her feet. It meant only one thing... something terrible awaited them beneath the hollow grround.  
  
"Then we'll do this the hard way!" the ground youkai shouted in fury. It jumped at the pair, swinging its tentacle-whip-like arms at them.  
  
Inuyasha, out of pure instinctive reaction, grabbed Kagome's waist and leaped into the air to dodge the whips. Kagome, however, started to panic when Inuyasha took hold of her.  
  
"Inuyasha, we're gonna crash!" she screamed as they neared the ground. Inuyasha had no time to answer as his feet met the ground and the floor exploded downward upon impact.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as they fell through, plummeting headfirst into the ravine-like whole that the two youkai had dug into the ground. He grabbed her tightly as they fell, but Inuyasha felt a strong impact on his head as his grip on Kagome loosened slightly.  
  
The last thing Inuyasha heard was Kagome's voice as the darkness suddenly bore down on him. Kagome shouted as the unconscious hanyou let go of her, and she continued falling as the hanyou was suspended on air. She kept on falling until she felt her eyes go heavy and she too sunk into unconsciousness.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"INUYASHA!"  
  
The scream rang in his head as Inuyasha began to stir.  
  
"Kagome!!!" Inuyasha called out frantically as he bolted up from where he lay. As he looked around him though, his eyes widened in confusion. He scrubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things, and looked up again. That's when he realized.  
  
He was at home... warm on his bed... in his own world...  
  
'Chikuso... was that a dream?!' he asked himself, shaking his head as if to clear it, when he heard a call from downstairs.  
  
"Inuyasha! Breakfast is ready!" his mother's small voice called clearly from the dining hall. The hanyou crawled out of lethargically, his white sleeping shirt and shorts sticking to his skin, still doubting what had happened.  
  
Had it all been a dream? So many things had happened in so little time! Could it all have been a dream? Miroku, Sango, Azalea and Naraku... were they all a dream?  
  
'Was Kagome a dream as well?' he asked himself glumly as he found his pants sitting on the nearest chair. 'The last thing I remember... we were in danger... was it really a dream? Was SHE a dream? Is that why Kagome is so perfect? Because she's a dream?' his mind screamed as he opened the door.  
  
'Kagome... is she alright?' he thought again as the delicious scent of his favorite breakfast greeted his nose. "Okaa?" he called cautiously.  
  
"Ah, Inuyasha!" she exclaimed as Inuyasha rounded the divider to get into the dining room. She smiled brightly at him before pointing to the table. "Take a seat, Inuyasha! I made Ramen!" she said with a grin.  
  
"Ramen?" his mouth began to water just thinking about it. The thought of his favorite dish drove all thoughts away from his mind.  
  
He was digging in when a familiarly cold voice reached his ears. 'Strange,' he thought, sniffing around to make sure. It was.  
  
"Sesshoumaru?" he asked aloud, whipping around to stare at his elder half brother who stood stoically in the doorway.  
  
"Honestly, Inuyasha," he began, fixing a pointed glare at his brother. "You still slurp that ramen like a full-fledged slob. Disgusting," he remarked before sitting in his old place at the table and eating his ramen noiselessly.  
  
Inuyasha stared at his brother. His brother's long hair was dark, probably cloaked already, and tied back in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had a briefcase and was wearing a professional-looking black suit. 'Shit, is that Armani?'  
  
"Inuyasha, might I know why you are staring at your own brother that way?" Sesshoumaru teased in slight irritation.  
  
Inuyasha snapped out of it. "Hey, what are you doing here, anyway? When did you get here from Yokohama?" he asked his brother in surprise. He didn't know Fluffy was coming for a visit. He had moved out of their home four years ago.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, ototo?" Sesshoumaru asked with raised eyebrows. "I've never been to Yokohama."  
  
Inuyasha stared at him in surprise as his mother took her own seat beside the head of the table. Odd. She had taken the head seat since his father died. Now that he thought about it, why were there FOUR plates on the table?  
  
He nearly choked when he got his answer.  
  
"Inuyasha?" his mom began. "Would you please call your father down from the bedroom? He's taking way too long up there."  
  
Now that wasn't right.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered as she felt her eyes open slightly. She was finally awake. She sat up straight, rubbing the back of her head where she had hit it when she fell.  
  
'Where the hell am I?' she thought before deciding to open her eyes. What she saw shocked her limbs cold.  
  
"Masaka..." she whispered in panic as she looked around her. "IYA!" she screamed, pounding at the walls that surrounded her. Each desperate bang against the wall sent jolts of static through her body but she paid no heed to the shocking pain. She looked down at her hands to see the jewels and rings around her wrists and fingers the way they had been before she met Inuyasha. Her pale fists were clenched tightly as she began to pound again.  
  
"IYA! Inuyasha! Anata wa doko?! Inuyasha!!!" she screamed as her panic rose even more. She felt tears slowly well up in her eyes as her desperation increased, making it hard to breathe.  
  
Her tears fell from her eyes unrestrained when she finally looked down at her own body. She was no longer wearing her black fighting robes. Quite the contrary... she was dressed in long, blinding white garments. She reached up momentarily to find a simple yet elegant crystalline ornament on top of her head.  
  
Her fists started to bruise and bleed with the pressure of punching against the hard wall. But she had to try. She was sweating heavily now, her ankle- length raven tresses sticking to her face, her chest heaving with the exertion.  
  
"Onegai! Someone help!" she shouted once more in tearful desperation. Her throat was burning from all the crying and screaming, but she didn't care. 'This is not happening!' her mind pleaded as she continued to ignore the blood that now dripped from her clenched fists.  
  
Something round and cool was pressed against her throat and she stilled in horror. 'Impossible!' she thought as she looked down at the offending object. Her blood ran cold when she realized what it was that she now held in her hand.  
  
The Shikon no Tama.  
  
"Gods, NO!!! Don't let this be happening! Inuyasha!" she screamed again, but this time, a cold voice cut through her furious yells.  
  
"Kukuku... why don't you just stop struggling? It would be a lot easier."  
  
Kagome turned to the direction of the voice and saw the hazy outline of the one being she hated the most.  
  
"Naraku," she hissed. "What are you doing? Where is Inuyasha?!" she demanded. Much to her agitation, Naraku just looked at her and... snickered.  
  
"Inuyasha? The knight in the legends? Have you forgotten that you cannot use your powers in here? You can not call him. You must have had some dream! Kukuku... MY poor sweet Azalea..."  
  
Kagome cringed at the sound of the name. "Don't call me that!" she yelled.  
  
"What's the matter princess? Afraid of your own destiny? Why don't you just accept my offer, hime?" he asked again.  
  
Kagome just about blew up. "I told you... I would rather die than accept you Naraku! And it's Azalea-SAMA. You have no right to call me so familiarly!"  
  
She froze. 'I'm back in the dome, as Azalea... but how?'  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well, that's it for my chap! How was it? I finally revealed who Kagome really is, aren't you all happy?! ^_^ LOL! I mean, you do get what I was trying to relay to you guys about Kagome's true identity, right? Right.  
  
Anyway, here is my response to all my wonderful reviewers.  
  
Litwolf689: I'm only seventeen, so I'm still in school. I'm a college sophomore. Anyway, the confession would come in about 2 or 4 chaps, I think. Just hang on in there, onegai?! Thanks for the review!  
  
Mikogurl: Sorry if I took too long with the update. Anyway, I'm glad you still like my fic ^_^. Thanks for the review!  
  
Moonlight shadow: I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review.  
  
Guesshoo: Hi! I'm glad you enjoy reading my work. Anyway, yeah, Miroku-sama and Sango-chan will be out of the palace in a couple of chapters at best. Kagome would have a LOT of explaining to do once they catch up! LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
Lilmissy^^: Hello! Anyway, the name's Adelle. Ikaw? I'm glad you liked my previous chap, and about the windy plain... that happened to me back when I was in high school, right in front of my crush of the millennium, and man, it was embarrassing! Good thing I was wearing nice undies. Tungkol naman sa school, grabe... sarap talaga umabsent ng matagal... kung pwede lang sana... Nakakatakot nga lang bumagsak, LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
Green Peridot: Wow, I'm glad you liked my last chap. Thanks for the review!  
  
Justmeh: I've updated! Thanks for the review!  
  
Trina: Oh well... May nagpadala na kasi ng death threat sakin via email e... I took my own sweet time with this chap. Thanks for the review!  
  
Well... that's that. AGAIN, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Your feedback (and even death threats, lol!) always encourage me to type faster. And, oh yeah. Watch out for the next chap. This coming chap is bound to be good. Man, even I'm getting excited! LOL!  
  
Tell me what you think, onegai!? Arigatou for reading, and please review!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	14. The Cry of Lost Hearts

A/N: Hello! I'm back! I've just been to an educational tour around the biggest province and set of mountains that I have ever seen, and damn, I am so exhausted. I'm still feeling kinda wasted right now. My companions and I walked around a dozen kilometers and all to see some stupid pots and paintings for our Humanities class. Our bus was hot, I had a project to complete, and I got home around a couple of hours before midnight. SHIT!  
  
Anyway, you probably aren't interested in my woeful life encounters, so on with the story! All questions and stuff will be answered at my after-chap- author's note. Ja!  
  
By the way, these symbols: ---text--- denote things that are happening simultaneously in different pov's/places. Please don't be confused.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nanimo, nada, wala, niente, NOTHING. Get it? I'm broke!  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
The Cry of Lost Hearts  
  
-----/---@  
  
She froze. 'I'm back in the dome, as Azalea... but how?'  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Naraku, I do not know what you are trying to pull, and frankly I do not care, but for the sake of the gods, let me GO!" Azalea hissed, her bleeding hands soaking her white gown with crimson blood.  
  
'Even if what he says is true, about Inuyasha being just a dream, I still have to try to get out!' Azalea thought. 'This can't be happening... it seems that my worst fears are reality, and not my wish to be free, fighting with the warrior. But, how could it be? Could all have been just a dream? Was Inuyasha just a dream? Gods, no!'  
  
"Now, now, Azalea," Naraku said in his creaking voice. "I do not want you hurting yourself. I cannot see you through the barrier, but your blood's scent is overpowering. I will come back when you calm down."  
  
She blanched. "Naraku! Get back here, ima sugu ni! Naraku! Let me go!" the princess screamed, hatred filling her voice. "Naraku! Teme... let me go!" she kept screaming until she saw his outline leave the room, closing the door and shrouding the dome in darkness.  
  
"Naraku... onegai..." she pleaded softly, tears running down her cheeks. "Onegai..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"NANI?!" Inuyasha hollered at his mother, his jaw dropping in shock.  
  
"I said, go call your father down for breakfast, dear. He must be dreadfully hungry by now," his mother said calmly, despite his most violent outburst.  
  
"Demo... okaasan... what the fuck are you talking about?! Oyaji died ten years ago!" he exclaimed. His mother's head snapped up sharply at his words.  
  
"Inuyasha! Don't say such things! Don't you even think that!" she said in sharp surprise. Seshoumaru looked strangely at him.  
  
"Have you finally lost your mind, brother? Father is fine, nowhere near death, I assure you. He just scolded and lectured me yesterday about the proper use of condoms." Sesshoumaru said with a scowl.  
  
"Father is..." Inuyasha stuttered. Then something about what his brother said struck him. "Condoms? Why the fuck were you talking about condoms?"  
  
"Use your nose, son," a deep voice said from behind him.  
  
'Masaka...' Inuyasha thought as he slowly turned to the painfully familiar voice. He froze when his eyes met the warm amber eyes of his father, Inutaisho.  
  
"Otou- otousan?" Inuyasha asked in a voice a little above a whisper. His father smiled at him as he approached the table.  
  
"Why Inuyasha! You look like you've seen a ghost!" he said with a grin.  
  
Inuyasha shocked the socks out of everyone as he lunged up suddenly and grabbed his father up into a large bear hug, small tears beginning to leak out of his eyes.  
  
"Tousan, god dammit, you're fucking alive!" Inuyasha exclaimed, earning him a strange look from all three other members of his family. Inutaisho was looking at Sesshoumaru, who was shaking his head with wide eyes.  
  
His mother then decided to stand and try to pry her son away from her husband before he could crush him and REALLY kill him. "Inuyasha? What's wrong?"  
  
"I..." Inuyasha said with a small blush. "I thought father was... well, dead!"  
  
"Now what made you think that?" Taisho asked as he sat down at the head of the table. Everyone was staring at Inuyasha now.  
  
"I dunno... but... is this real? I thought you've been dead for ten years, dad!" Inuyasha exclaimed in plain confusion.  
  
"That must have been some dream, then," Seshoumaru said wryly from his place across Inuyasha. Inuyasha just shook his head in disbelief.  
  
'This is weird.' He thought, but shrugged it off. "Yeah... I guess..."  
  
Inuyasha had just begun to dig in when he remembered his father's comment about using his nose... Seshoumaru and the condom issue too... he sniffed around and gasped in shock. "Oi, Fluffy!" he called, ignoring the threatening look his brother sent his way. "Why do you smell weird today? You smell like someone else!"  
  
His brother's glare turned into an embarrassed frown at his observation. Taisho snorted in amusement at that.  
  
"Your wonderful brother here," he started "Had just mated with his girlfriend last night. And they're not even married yet, for shame!"  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Three pairs of eyes turned to Sesshoumaru, who blushed. "Rin and I are of age, father. Besides, she AGREED to it. We are now engaged, after all."  
  
Inuyasha stared. 'Oh yeah, Rin. That wench who was my brother's prom date in his senior year. They're engaged?'  
  
All four had just started eating in silence when the doorbell rang. Inuyasha blanched and called up his human disguise on impulse, while Inutaisho did the same as he sniffed the air. The taiyoukai suddenly smiled in relief.  
  
"Inuyasha, I believe that is for you," he noted. Sesshoumaru sniffed then grunted in agreement. Inuyasha looked at them in confusion before turning to the direction of the front door and sniffing.  
  
He nearly fell off his chair at what he smelled. He sniffed the air again, not daring to believe it. His mother just grinned and stood up.  
  
"If you won't open the door for her, I will. You're gonna tire out the young woman!"  
  
"NO! I'll do it!" Inuyasha said as he rushed to the door, his heart beating painfully rapid in his chest. 'Gods, please let it be real!' he prayed silently as he ran up to the door and twisted the knob open.  
  
Inuyasha's breath caught up in his throat as he stared at the apparition before him. She was as beautiful as he remembered her, be it in his dreams or in reality.  
  
"Kagome," he breathed, staring at her. Her raven hair was pulled up in a neat half-ponytail, her blue/gray eyes sparkling with glee. She was wearing the usual high school uniform - a short, gray green sailor fuku.  
  
"Ohayou, Inu-chan," she greeted, unwittingly triggering a long coughing fit from the hanyou. She looked at him in concern as she patted his back.  
  
'Inu-chan?' Inuyasha thought as his coughs died out.  
  
"Well, will you let me in anytime soon or do I have to wait for autumn?" Kagome asked with a small smile.  
  
"Oh, yes, yes, come in!" Inuyasha said as he stepped back, still feeling confused. How was Kagome here? Wasn't she supposed to be in Crystallia? 'But then again,' he thought, 'Crystallia IS just a dream, right? But why is Kagome here?'  
  
-----/---@  
  
"So, what do you think? Will those two make it?" the earth youkai asked its companion, who just shrugged.  
  
"I do not know," she stated, her luminous form floating about two prone figures. "This man, Inuyasha, is it? He is quite strong-willed. We will have trouble with him. His dreams come before his fears."  
  
The earth youkai shook his head. "Your plan confuses me. Why don't we just kill them and get it over with?"  
  
"Bakero. Because if we do that, we won't be able to suck their powers in! By letting them realize their deepest fears, they would slowly expel their powers and we can grab hold, as what is happening to Kagome. See?" she said, pointing to Kagome, who was expelling small balls of light from her body.  
  
"I see," the earth youkai said. "Through feeding on their desperation, you can take advantage of them. Your being a dream youkai is quite an advantage in this!"  
  
"Yes... but this warrior... the knight, as Naraku called him. He is very ambitious. His dreams then tend to come before his fears in his mind. Unlike the girl. She harbors deep fears on the fore of her mind. It would take a while before we can draw out Inuyasha's fears and powers," the misty dream youkai said.  
  
"I do not care. We will take their powers, no matter how long it takes."  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, might I remind you something? If these two have very strong emotions that persist within them, there is a chance that they just might wake up from this spell..."  
  
The earth youkai looked astounded. "What kind of emotions?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Sango couldn't stop the fear that was crawling through her skin. Something was terribly wrong, yet she knew that she couldn't do anything about whatever it was. Gods, she just knew something terrible was happening to Kagome... er... Azalea.  
  
Kagome is Azalea's real given name. The name that her parents had given her upon her birth. The name that she had had to abandon when she became princess. And it was also the name that she had always asked Sango to call her, almost as if to serve as her reminder of her old life with her beloved family. The only family she had in the castle upon becoming princess was her elder brother Souta, but she was not even allowed to talk to him as a brother - only as a soldier. It had pained Kagome very much, ordering her brother around to dangerous missions, but it was his duty... one that her brother had most willingly taken.  
  
She was not supposed to be called anything but Azalea, but being the only girl in the palace with whom she could share her woes with, Sango had reluctantly agreed, being the right hand and all. Friendship between princess and dame grew since then.  
  
Since speaking with Miroku that morning, her worry suddenly grew. She had to find him. After all, HE always bothered her with his problems. It was time SHE bothered HIM.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Houshi-sama!" Miroku perked up at that. Something was up, and he was half- expecting Sango to call up in a bit. How well he knew her!  
  
"Sango-sama! Why were you calling for me?" he asked as he ran into her.  
  
"Houshi-sama... Aza-chan is in danger. I mean, really in danger. I don't know how but... I can feel it! Her power is fluctuating horribly! Do you think that Naraku finally got his hands on the power of the Shikon?" she asked in one breath.  
  
"Whoa. Slow down!" he said fondly. "First of all, I do not think that Naraku has the power. We would be dead by now if he did. Secondly, Azalea- sama may be having trouble, but I am sure that she can handle it. She is strong, Sango-sama. Thirdly... I think it is Inuyasha that we should be worried about. I can't feel his aura. It's almost as if he weren't here, but... I don't get it."  
  
They stared at each other as both continued to desperately worry.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Hey! Daijobu ka?"  
  
Inuyasha stopped his steady strides to regard the girl who stood beside him. Kagome. She was smiling, as usual, but he knew something was wrong.  
  
The day had been perfect, so far. He had woken to find himself home, his father was alive, he and Sesshoumaru got along fine, his mother was in perfect health, and Kagome... Well, he had concluded from the way his family smiled and looked at him and Kagome that she was actually his girlfriend.  
  
'But that doesn't make sense!' he thought in disdain. How come he remembered everything differently?! Was all that he remembered a dream? Ten years worth of his memory was all a dream? He pinched himself discreetly as he looked at Kagome. It hurt. Shit.  
  
"Inu-chan, you've been zoned out since this morning. Is something wrong?" she asked in concern, gripping his fingers tightly in her small hand.  
  
Inuyasha shook his head and squeezed her fingers reassuringly. He still felt weird, but holding Kagome this way was just so... right... He decided to forget whatever was bothering him and concentrate on the day and their short trip to school.  
  
"Ano... Kagome? Could you tell me... well... how did we meet?" he asked slowly, not knowing what to expect.  
  
Kagome just looked at him. "Baka... after we got Naraku, remember? Azalea let you make a wish and you said you wanted your father back... and ME. So, I came back to your world with you."  
  
"Nani?" he asked, confused as ever. He looked up to the skies in thought. 'We defeated Naraku? But... why don't I remember?'  
  
A sharp gasp interrupted his musings and he looked down at Kagome just in time to see her falling forward. "Kagome!" he shouted in alarm as he caught her and stilled when he noticed blood on his hands. He looked at her in apprehension and saw to his horror that a sharp spear was wedged right in the middle of her abdomen, and her eyes were wide in pain, her mouth spewing blood.  
  
"Kagome!" he shouted, laying her down on her side, not knowing what to do with the spear, he took a quick look around him to see who had shot her, but no one was there. Kagome took the spear in her hands and pulled the spear out, choking on her own blood as she did so.  
  
She lay herself on her back and reached a hand up to cup his cheek. She pulled him down for a last, weak kiss, before going limp in his arms.  
  
"No... hell no! Kagome!" he screamed in agony. "No! You can't leave me! No! God dammit, don't do this to me! Kagome!"  
  
She remained still. He tried desperately to shake her awake, but all to no avail. She was dead. Tears brimmed at his eyes as he stood and started to run in a vain attempt to find anyone who could have possibly done that to Kagome. As he turned the corner though, his shock just grew.  
  
There lay his father, probably in pretty much the same way he looked when he was killed ten years ago, lying in a pool of his own blood, eyes open and unseeing, a spear through his body. He screamed in rage and turned the next corner, only to have his breath catch. Everything around him was in flames. The houses, the school, everything... in ruins and flames.  
  
He watched in stunned horror as everything in his world was destroyed in less than a heartbeat, when a familiar, vile scent intruded his senses.  
  
"NARAKU!!!!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
She was feeling weaker... weaker than she ever remembered feeling. It was consuming her... but she could do nothing.  
  
'How?' she thought. 'How could it all have been a dream? Gods, Inuyasha! It's impossible, but then... how could I be here if it wasn't?'  
  
"Inuyasha..." she called in silent desperation, clasping her bleeding hands together in prayer. "Onegai... if you are anywhere out there... if you truly do exist... please, come to me! Inuyasha... I..."  
  
A fresh torrent of tears escaped her eyes as she continued pleading. "Please, Inuyasha! Tell me that this is all a nightmare!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
---"Kagome! Tell me that this isn't real!" he shouted at the prone figure that he now cradled in his arms. His world was crumbling down... literally. He had nowhere to go, and for some reason, decided to go to Kagome, simply wishing to hold her prone form as everything had gone up into ashes.  
  
"Kagome, open your eyes!"---  
  
---"I know you're out there, god dammit! It can't have been all a dream Inuyasha!" she screamed, knowing somehow, how she did she didn't know, that her memories of Inuyasha were no dream. They were too precious to be silly dreams!---  
  
---"Tell me you're alive, Kagome!" he shouted. "This isn't real! I just know it! Tell me that you're still in Crystallia with me and this is just a nightmare!"---  
  
---"This can't be happening! You promised me you'd be here! You promised me that you'd stay until we defeat Naraku! I know you're real, Inuyasha!"---  
  
---"Get up Kagome! You can't leave me like this!" ---  
  
---"Inuyasha! Rescue me like you always do, right NOW! Inuyasha!"---  
  
---"You bitch! You're stronger than this! Kagome! You can't leave me, Kagome!"---  
  
---"I know you won't abandon me, Inuyasha!"---  
  
---"Fuck, I know you're alive! The one I'm holding is not the real you Kagome! I know it, I just know it!"---  
  
---"I need you Inuyasha!"---  
  
---"Kagome! I..."---  
  
---"Inuyasha..."---  
  
--- "I love you, you stupid bitch!" Inuyasha screamed in frantic rage, only to be shocked when Kagome's corpse suddenly opened her eyes and expelled a bright, blinding light from her blue/gray orbs. ---  
  
--- "I LOVE YOU!" Kagome screamed, clenching her eyes in anxiety, before abruptly opening them as she felt the barriers around her collapse, shrouding her in sudden bright light. ---  
  
-----/---@  
  
"What such emotions?!" the earth youkai asked in a frenzy as she noticed that the bodies that lay before them had suddenly stopped releasing their orbs of power. Inuyasha had just started emitting waves of power a few minutes ago, and the power they had gathered was still not enough.  
  
Both terrified youkai turned to look back at the prone forms, only to see that both were now emitting a strange aura around their bodies. The halos of light were slowly growing brighter, until the light just exploded outward, at the same time as two battle cries came simultaneously from both Kagome and Inuyasha.  
  
"KAGOME!"  
  
"INUYASHA!"  
  
Both cried out, as if in answer to the other's call. The two youkai shielded their eyes as the light came out in fantastic waves before them, making them cringe in fright.  
  
The pair opened their eyes slowly, lethargically, as they tried to asses their surroundings. Inuyasha could smell a familiar scent nearby, one that drove all fears and doubts away.  
  
Kagome blinked the exhaustion from her eyes, but opened them wide when she sensed a clawed hand slowly clasp he own. She turned her head and smiled as she saw a pair of slitted golden eyes staring into her blue/gray ones.  
  
"Inuyasha..." she whispered hoarsely. "You're here..."  
  
Inuyasha smiled. "Of course I am," he replied, already starting to get up. He helped Kagome to her feet, noting the way she staggered when he helped her up. He turned to regard the two youkai who now stood about five meters away from them. He looked straight at the transparent youkai and glared.  
  
"Teme... you're a dream youkai, aren't you? Bastard... How dare you fuck with our minds!" he shouted, knowing full well now that he had been dreaming. By the way Kagome looked, the same had happened to her.  
  
He drew Tetsusaiga, the blade instantly transforming. He stood before Kagome, pointing the blade at the two antagonists, his fury coming out in waves. As he sized them up, he noticed a certain amount of youki gathering around him and his sword, surrounding them in a thick mist of power.  
  
Inuyasha raised his sword as the two youkai started to flee. He was puzzled with the youki, especially when he noticed the gap in between the blades of wind. He was furious, and as if out of instinct, he took a mighty swing at the gap.  
  
He hardly knew what had happened. One moment the youkai were fleeing, the second they had all but vanished under the force of his blow. He didn't think his sword even touched them. They just disappeared.  
  
Puzzled, he sniffed the air and noted the scent of death. Yup, they were gone. How, he didn't know. He'll have to ask Miroku later.  
  
"Inuyasha," a dry voice interrupted his musings. He turned to find Kagome, looking drained and exhausted. He then remembered that the youkai had originally come to them demanding their power. Maybe they managed to do that while they were out after all. Kagome certainly looked weak, and her knees were threatening to give out.  
  
"That was incredible, Inuyasha. Arigatou," she smiled softly as she said that.  
  
"It was nothing Kagome," he said, picking her up bridal style. She didn't even protest. She just settled herself in his arms and laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck for support.  
  
"Actually, you were the one who helped me get out the dreamscape," he said softly, blushing as Kagome nuzzled his chest.  
  
"I did?"  
  
"Hai, you did," he replied, sighing in relief when he found a cave not far from them. They approached it in silence, and once there, he set Kagome down to lean against a large boulder as he took his haori off to lay it on the ground for Kagome to rest on. Once his haori was in place. He picked Kagome up again and laid her on it. He was startled when Kagome tried to sit up.  
  
"Oi wench! You need to rest!" he objected, only to be stopped by Kagome's finger on his lips, effectively silencing him.  
  
"Thank you... for everything. You helped me out the dreamscape too," she said with a smile, moving her hand from his lips to his cheek.  
  
Inuyasha gulped. "Well... I guess we helped each other, ne?"  
  
"Hai. We did."  
  
Inuyasha reached out to hold the hand on his face and held it up to his lips, kissing it lightly. Kagome gasped softly at the contact, and he smiled as he looked into her startled eyes.  
  
She was so beautiful... he couldn't resist... he leaned down slowly, closed his eyes and kissed her soft red lips.  
  
Kagome's eyes opened wide at the move in surprise, but it took her less than a moment to respond. She kissed him back eagerly, her whole body tingling at the contact.  
  
His mouth moved passionately over hers and he let his other hand move to hold the nape of her neck, desperately trying to pull her closer to him. He had never kissed anyone before... it was his first kiss.  
  
Hesitantly, he licked her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She moaned as she complied, and Inuyasha eagerly dove into her sweet warm mouth.  
  
Her taste... so sweet and innocent... he couldn't get enough of her. He explored every curve and crevice of her mouth and lips, but soon pulled away when he started to run out of breath.  
  
Kagome's eyes were still closed as he pulled away, her breathing ragged and harsh, her lips swollen red. It took Inuyasha a moment to realize that he was panting hard as well.  
  
Thinking about what he had done shocked him now that the kiss was over, but what's done is done, and he was in no way regretting it. He looked into storm-clouded orbs as Kagome opened her weary eyes, eyes that were tired but ablaze with passion.  
  
He slowly pushed her back onto her 'bed', smiling as he said, "Sleep for now. You're tired." Kagome looked at him tiredly for a few moments, before nodding and closing her eyes. Her steady breathing told him that she was now asleep.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well, how was that? Haha... it wasn't TOO cheesy, was it? Lots of email reviewers were asking me to make Inuyasha and Kagome admit their feelings, to themselves at the very least. So there. They did.  
  
By the way, do you guys want shorter chaps or am I writing them in an ok length? I'd shorten my chaps if you want me to.  
  
Well, here are my responses to all those wonderful people who reviewed on ff.net.  
  
R.K.: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!  
  
Mikogurl: Sorry for the long update. I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!  
  
A Friend: I hope this chap answered your questions. Thanks!  
  
TheWraith: Wow... good guess then! I hope this chap cleared things up for you. Thanks for the review!  
  
Justmeh: He will... eventually. Thanks!  
  
Guesshoo: Yeah, it is a bit confusing... hehe... I'm glad you like it, thanks! I still think your signature is cool...  
  
Litwolf689: *Looks at teary puppy eyes* Awe... how can I refuse?! I just read and reviewed your story. Great job, honestly! I hope this chap answered your questions. Thanks again for the review!  
  
So, that's that! As I said in most of my responses, I hope this chap cleared things up for you guys. Chap 13 was quite confusing, I know. I actually confused myself. @_@  
  
Anyway, reviews, comments, criticisms and the like are immensely welcomed and appreciated. Please review. *_*  
  
Gotta go! Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	15. Points

A/N: OMG! 20 REVIEWS!? Wow... you guys are the greatest! And guess what?! I finally broke the 100-review-mark on ff.net! Alright! And I owe everything to you guys, you wonderful reviewers! I am soooo happy! And, I got another 17 email reviews! OMG! *does the happy dance*  
  
Anyway, I got so excited, I typed this chap up before studying for my departmental exam! Lol! Oh well, geology can wait. I am so psyched!  
  
So, thanks for all the reviews. But before I start this chap, I would like to say something about the last chap. About ten people, asked me whether Inu and Kag now know about each other's feelings since last time. Well, no, not yet. They DID admit their love to themselves, though. I know, they shouted it out and everything, but everything was in their dream. I'll be getting to the admittance part soon enough.  
  
On with the chap!  
  
Disclaimer: I hate this part, really. I do not own Inuyasha. Satisfied?  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Points  
  
-----/---@  
  
The sun shone onto the dry lands of the withered field, coating the ground in an almost ethereal glow of gold. The wind that blew across the plain was dry but cool, and that very same wind gently blew deep into the sole cave in the plain.  
  
At first glance the cave would seem to be empty, but no - Within the cave lay two figures, a man and a woman, lying so close to each other on a thick red robe.  
  
The man was clutching the woman to him possessively, tightly, as if he never wanted to let go. The woman was snuggled into the man's chest, both arms around his narrow waist.  
  
The woman stirred first, absently nuzzling the firm warm wall she was against. Kagome was tired, and though sleep had finally left her, she was still reluctant to totally wake up, or at least open her eyes.  
  
Her eyes snapped open though when she realized that she was not lying against a wall, but was clutching a firm hard body to herself in an almost iron grip. She cautiously lifted her gaze to see who it was, and relief washed over her form as she looked up into the innocent sleeping face of Inuyasha. She noticed that they were both lying on his haori, and that their limbs were so entangled about each other, one could barely tell which belonged to whom.  
  
She briefly wondered why they were laying like so, when she suddenly recalled what had taken place the night before. She had been close to death, no doubt about that. Then Inuyasha saved her and then...  
  
Her cheeks reddened as she remembered the kiss. He had kissed her... she had kissed him back. It was her first kiss and she was glad that she had shared it with Inuyasha.  
  
'Isn't it odd though?' she asked herself. 'I am one who is destined to never be touched by any man. It's so ironic - the princess of Crystallia falling in love with the legendary knight...'  
  
She trailed off at that. She was in love with him. She knew that now. She had even admitted it, even it WAS just in a dream. But now she knew. She now knew why her heart beat a fraction faster whenever he stared into her eyes. She now knew why her cheeks heated up whenever he held her in his arms, or when he had her on his back as he leaped high up off the ground. She loved him.  
  
'But does he love me?' she thought, before catching herself. 'No, this is wrong! I'm not supposed to fall in love with him,' she chided herself with the realization that Inuyasha would have to leave in some time, and the further realization as to why she felt a strong pang of pain upon thinking of his inevitable departure.  
  
'I am the Lady Azalea. I can't fall in love with him, and he can't love me. It's just not right, it's not possible!' she thought as she began to stroke his cheek with the back of her fingers. This brought tears to her eyes. She would only be hurt by loving him, but she couldn't help feeling that way. She would only feel the pain when he left, but she couldn't let go of him. She tightened her arms around him even more, and let the tears flow freely down her cheeks.  
  
'Itai... kokoro ga itai,' she thought as she felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. Her love for him was futile, and even if he did love her back, it was utterly hopeless. They could never be together, and she knew it. But she still loved him. She could never lose her feelings for him, and even if she knew that it would kill her to lose him, she would bear the pain later, as long as she could have the time with him as long as he was there.  
  
Looking at him, she made a decision. For now, she decided that she didn't have to think of future repercussions. She didn't want to care if they would be torn apart. She would be a normal girl, even for a short time, and love Inuyasha, like any normal girl could love. She would forget that she was Azalea. She would be Kagome.  
  
She tried to wipe her tears with the back of her hand. She didn't recall falling asleep beside Inuyasha, but for now she didn't care. She would relish their closeness for as long as she can.  
  
She snuggled back against his chest, tucking her head back under his chin the way she was doing when she woke up. She would lay like that until he woke up, even pretend to be asleep if need be.  
  
Inuyasha felt the movement and slowly stirred. He had just had the best night's sleep in his entire life and he knew exactly why. He looked down at his reason right then, thinking that perhaps she had just been shifting in her sleep.  
  
His arms were tight around her, and she was hugging him back. He was originally going to sleep sitting up, but the night had been cold and they didn't have her bag and its usual blankets, so he decided to sleep beside her when he realized that she had begun to shiver. He could barely contain the contented sigh that threatened to leave his lips as he plunged his fingers into her long raven tresses. Her hair was soft, just the way it had been as he treaded his fingers into the silky locks as he had kissed her the night before.  
  
"Kagome," he sighed softly, unconsciously tightening his grasp. He knew that he could never ever forget that kiss in his entire life and not only because it was his first kiss. Kagome's lips had been best thing he had ever tasted. She was probably better than the sweetest wine, and as he had kissed her, he knew that he wanted to be doing that for the rest of his life.  
  
'But you'll be leaving Crystallia soon, remember?' an evil voice asked at the back of his mind. Yes, indeed he will, and the thought greatly saddened him. Maybe he could take her with him back to his world? But then again, what if she didn't want that? He loved her, but did she feel the same?  
  
'But she kissed me back,' he mentally argued. That kiss had to have meant something to her! Maybe she liked him as well?  
  
He shook his head against his depressingly hopeful thoughts and just stared at the top of Kagome's head. She was still securely in his arms, and he smiled as he gratefully took in deep breaths of her scent. She always smelled so calming, and he started when he felt her begin to move again.  
  
'Shit! I'd better move my ass! She'd freak out if she saw me here!' he desperately thought, trying to lift her arms off him, but she just tightened her hold on him.  
  
'That's it, I'm in for a BIG bashing!' he thought as the girl began to slowly open her eyes. He was expecting her to scream at him and call him a hentai, but to his surprise, she just smiled up at him groggily and said, "Ohayou, Inuyasha."  
  
"Kagome," he stuttered. "I... well... ohayou."  
  
"Well, aren't we articulate?" she teased him lightly. "Are you ok? Your eyes are a bit bloodshot. You're still stressed about yesterday, aren't you?"  
  
"Well, yeah," he lied. No way he was admitting that she had him flustered. "I'm still kinda shaken up, I guess."  
  
"Liar," she taunted coolly, nuzzling his chest. "You suck at lying, did you know?"  
  
"Hell yeah," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm really just a bit tired still. And I need to call Miroku and ask him what the hell happened to Tetsusaiga last night," he defended, looking down at her head that she had all but buried in him.  
  
He unconsciously began to stroke the hollow of her back, treading his fingers through her hair as she tightened her arms around him. It felt so oddly familiar somehow, that neither noticed. The morning sun was making the plain rather musty, but both felt too comfy to notice the heat.  
  
Kagome broke the silence. "Kaze no Kizu," she stated abruptly, making Inuyasha look down at her.  
  
"Nani?" he asked uncertainly, remembering a conversation he had with Miroku once, quite some time ago. Kagome looked back up at him.  
  
"The wound of the wind. It..."  
  
"It is a powerful wind attack. The Tetsusaiga has the power to take down one hundred youkai in one swing by an attack that slices through the wind. The Tetsusaiga would go through a portion of the wind and release it. The Kaze no Kizu..." he said, before suddenly brightening. "Was that attack I did yesterday... was THAT the Kaze no Kizu?" he asked, looking her in the eye.  
  
"Well... how did you know that?" she asked uncertainly. Hey, SHE was supposed to be the brain chief here! She was the princess, not him!  
  
"Miroku told me about it once, when Kouga kidnapped you. Remember that day?"  
  
"Heck yeah," she replied. "Anyway, I can't tell for certain. I have certainly NEVER seen the Kaze no Kizu, but by the way your attack looked yesterday... well, if I compare it to the description in the book... they're a match, so to speak."  
  
"That's great then! I mean, it's probably the Kaze no Kizu by the way things seem. I just performed a big attack!" he said happily. Then, as if suddenly daydreaming, he looked off into the distance that was visible through the cave's door. "Man, wait til I see Kouga again. I am gonna KICK his ass! Ha!" he declared with a maniacal grin.  
  
"Inuyasha..."  
  
"And that Naraku! If he dares to show his face now, man is he gonna get it!"  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome interrupted his merry musings. "I understand your enthusiasm, but please calm down about it. We aren't even sure if what you did was the Kaze no Kizu. And if it WAS, we aren't sure if you could do it again. It may have been a lucky fluke, you know."  
  
"Hmmph! Don't you trust me yet? I'm good, I'll practice til I get it perfectly. THEN you won't think it's a fluke." Inuyasha said with a light scowl.  
  
"I know you will, but time isn't right for you to gloat yet. You can gloat AFTER we confirm that you performed the Kaze no Kizu, ne?" Kagome smiled.  
  
Silence broke again, giving them time to think. Both desperately wanted to ask the other about what took place at the battle's aftermath - the kiss. Questions were driving them both crazy, but both felt too shy to ask out loud.  
  
The companions seem to have finally noticed that they were still intimately wrapped around each other. They looked down at their arms before blushing scarlet together. Kagome let out a small squeak and scooted back, while Inuyasha just blushed darkly and softly pulled away.  
  
They both sat up, looking at everything but the other. Kagome broke the awkward silence again. She cleared her throat, and without looking up, said, "Ano... weren't you gonna call Miroku-sama?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" Naraku asked Kanna, who was cowering behind the cloth divider. She was desperately trying to hide her face from view, and her hair wasn't cooperating.  
  
"Iie, Naraku-sama. I am honest to you all the time. I would never keep anything from you," she said.  
  
"I can smell your fear, you know. Just tell me what it is and I'll let you off easy. I won't kill you," he said. Kanna felt her fear grow.  
  
She had foolishly been skirting around Naraku for the past few days, and he probably noticed. Now he was asking her... but she couldn't very well tell him that Azalea had somehow DISAPPEARED from the dome!  
  
"Naraku-sama, onegai. I am telling the truth! And if ever there was something wrong with me right now, it is nothing of importance, I assure you," she pleaded.  
  
A long silence followed. Kanna was all but twisting in her place when Naraku suddenly smiled. That, if anything, unnerved her even more.  
  
"Alright then. You may go," Naraku said simply. Relief flooded through Kanna, and she thanked him repeatedly before leaving.  
  
Naraku was then left alone to dwell on his dreary thoughts. He was frustrated beyond belief that Inuyasha and his wench had AGAIN managed to defeat his men. 'Darn them,' he thought. 'And I went through so much persuasion with them too.'  
  
Not only that, but Inuyasha seems to have either developed or acquired a new sort of power. That wind blast he performed was something to think about too.  
  
Meanwhile, Kanna was halted right outside the door of Naraku's chambers by Kagura. Kagura was grinning from ear to ear, with a look in her eyes that practically screamed 'good work there, dear'.  
  
Kanna hesitated before motioning for Kagura to follow her. Kagura followed, of course, and when they were far enough from naraku to be out of earshot, the usually placid-looking youkai glared at her sister.  
  
"Kagura... I. Want. Answers. NOW!" Kanna said through gritted teeth. "I believe I have a right to them. I was the one who had to endure Naraku- sama's fearful probing. Tell me what I want to know, ima sugu ni!"  
  
Kagura was surprised by the way Kanna was acting. She was usually docile, but now she was glaring daggers at her. She sighed and replied, "What do you wanna know?"  
  
"Firstly... how was she able to escape? We all took great care in making sure that the barrier won't let her through. How did she get past the barrier?"  
  
Kagura sighed. "Easy question. Clearly, the hime is smarter than I gave her credit for. She gathered her powers into something - probably an inanimate object - and left it within the dome. She left her powers in that object, in the dome, but that allowed her to get away, since the dome only filters out power, not aura."  
  
"So, her power is still within the dome? That is amazingly stupid of her, then. Why would she leave her powers free to the use of her enemies?" Kanna asked.  
  
"Baka. No one can use the powers of the Shikon besides her. Hell, nothing is strong enough to contain it but the shikon no tama!" Kagura said in annoyance to Kanna's ignorance. What her sister asked next nearly blew her up.  
  
"What's a shikon no tama?"  
  
"Don't you know anything, Kanna? Anyway, the shikon no tama is kind of the partner of the Shikon power. It controls and holds the power within the princess. In times like these, it could be used to hold the power. If anyone gains control of it, which is damn near impossible, this jewel could give the owner immense power. Got that?"  
  
"Hai, I think so. Now. I wanna know... where is Azalea?" Kanna asked uncertainly.  
  
"Let's play charades with that one. Listen, she is just around the corner, doing things that I never imagined she could. She doesn't even look quite like herself. And she is also quite powerful, even without the shikon's power within her. Inborn holy powers, I guess," she smiled evilly before continuing. "She wears clothes that are the exact contrary of her old princess robes of long flowing white. And lastly, she trots around with the legendary warrior carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. Give up?"  
  
Kanna was shocked. "Kagome? Demo... kuso! I wondered why they look so much alike! They are one person!"  
  
"Folks, we got a winner!" Kagura said sarcastically.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"So you think that what I did was the Kaze no Kizu?" Inuyasha asked Miroku enthusiastically. Kagome was giggling behind him, happy for him, and Miroku was beaming at him, his smile reaching his ears.  
  
"Hai, I am sure of it Inuyasha! I am so happy and relieved! You managed to perform the Kaze no Kizu so easily! You are just full of surprises," Miroku was practically shouting, and Inuyasha could hear Sango giggling like a monkey behind him.  
  
"Keh. It's not like it was easy. That damn fucking attack damn near drained me!"  
  
"But you managed to hold on, didn't you, Inuyasha-sama?!" Sango squealed. "You truly are remarkable, as the legends say!"  
  
"Now stop that 'legend' shit. I ain't no legend." Inuyasha said, before grinning like a manic. "So I finally got the Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack, ne?"  
  
Miroku looked thoughtful. "Well, no, Inuyasha. There is still one more attack, one far more powerful than the Kaze no Kizu."  
  
"NANI?! You said this attack could take down a hundred youkai all at the same time! You mean there's another that's more powerful than this? God dammit, why didn't you tell me sooner! I wouldn't have tried for this thing if I knew!" Inuyasha shouted yet again.  
  
"Well, you wouldn't be able to perform the Bakuryuuha without learning the Kaze no Kizu, so it's not such a waste of time," Miroku explained calmly.  
  
"Bakuryuuha? Is that the attack?"  
  
"Yes Inuyasha. Don't ask me how it is done, I have no idea as of now. I have still yet to read the rest of the ancient books," Miroku replied before Inuyasha had the chance to "calmly" interrogate him.  
  
"I should have known," Inuyasha snapped, absently flicking a strand of black hair from his shoulder. 'Hmmph. Must have fallen from Kagome while she was sleeping beside me this morning. Keh.'  
  
Again, our ever-observant houshi noticed this. "Inuyasha, where did you get that strand of hair? I mean, your hair is silver..."  
  
"None of your damn business kouzo. Now, if you don't mind, we've got more traveling to do. Ja ne!" Inuyasha said before zoning out.  
  
Miroku turned to Sango in confusion. Sango, however, looked simply ecstatic.  
  
"Oh, houshi-sama! He did it! It won't be long now... he could probably defeat Naraku in less than a week now!" Sango said happily. Now if they could just find Naraku...  
  
"Sango, didn't you notice that strand of hair on his shoulder?"  
  
"It was black. So what? He could have gotten it anywhere. He sleeps in caves, ne?"  
  
"I know... but he said... he said it was none of my business. He could have just said he didn't know, but what he said has made me rather suspicious..."  
  
Sango looked exasperated. "You still think that he has a secret companion, ne houshi-sama?" Miroku nodded. "Well, even if he does, we can clearly see that whoever it is helps him get to Naraku, not the other way around. His companion even seems to be lifting his spirits!" Sango said with a small smile.  
  
Miroku was still unconvinced. "I will only believe that once I see it with my own two eyes."  
  
-----/---@  
  
They were lost. Kagome knew it, Inuyasha knew it - heck, they both knew it.  
  
"Inuyasha, we've been here before. See?" Kagome said, pointing to the remnants of a small night camp. The "camp" just consisted of a few rocks and twigs that suggested that there had been a fire burning there previously.  
  
"You don't know that for sure, wench!"  
  
"Yes I do, baka! Look!" she snapped back, pointing to a rather large dry bush. Strewn among the knarled branches was a thin white bandage.  
  
"My hand bandages got dirty last night, so I decided to change them and throw the old ones away. Now what, exactly, do THOSE look like?!" she said as steam threatened to flow from her head.  
  
"Umm... bandages?" Inuyasha replied sheepishly.  
  
"Right... now, in case you haven't noticed, we have been going around in circles for THREE DAYS! I thought you said you knew where we were going?!" Kagome screamed. Now Kagome knew that Inuyasha could sense the princess' presence, or at least the shikon no tama's presence. That was how he knew which way to go, anyway. But how they could mess up like this, evaded her sense of reason.  
  
And Kagome wasn't helping any, which was driving her insane. She could also sense the shikon, of course. The power did belong to her. But she too was following as they went, and it seemed to be leading them in circles.  
  
"I do know where we are going! It's just that... the princess seems to be moving. Do you think she escaped somehow?" Inuyasha asked in confusion.  
  
'You have no idea,' Kagome thought with a grim smile. "Azalea-sama couldn't have escaped. She is in a barrier that one with shikon powers couldn't get through."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I just do, ok?!"  
  
"OK! Well then why is the aura leading us in circles?"  
  
"I don't know! Maybe you've just messed up your senses!"  
  
"My senses are not messed up!"  
  
Both stood glaring at each other for a short while, before Inuyasha finally conceded.  
  
"Ok, I know we're lost. I just don't understand how that could have happened. We've already wasted so much fucking time in this stupid desert- ful of dead trees. WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?!" he shouted to the skies.  
  
"As if shouting would help. We have to find a way out of here!"  
  
"Yeah, I know but..." Inuyasha abruptly stopped talking.  
  
"Nani, Inuyasha? Hey, what's wrong?" Kagome asked in confusion.  
  
"I hear something... it's coming from over there," he replied, pointing to a spot to their right. "Someone's asking fro help..."  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kagome said, already starting to go off in that direction.  
  
"Matte," Inuyasha said. "Is it right for us to go over there? I mean... we have more things to worry about and... it might be a trap. I know I'm paranoid but we've had enough encounters to be paranoid."  
  
"Well, it still wouldn't hurt to see. Besides, what if that person really is in trouble? Wouldn't that stay and weigh on your conscience? Besides, with Kaze no Kizu under your control, what could stop you?"  
  
"I guess," Inuyasha replied. "Alright, let's go."  
  
They both bounded off to the direction Inuyasha had indicated, Kagome on Inuyasha's back again.  
  
The path led them to a large clearing that, Inuyasha noted, they had never been in before. In the middle of the clearing lay a boy of about five, practically bathing in his own blood. Kagome gasped at the sight and told Inuyasha to move faster.  
  
When they got to the boy, they noticed that he was pale, ghastly pale, and blood was spilling from a large gaping wound on his stomach. Inuyasha picked him up and tried to press a hand to the wound in his abdomen in an attempt to stop the bleeding. His shirt was torn up in many places, as if a demon had sliced through the fabric of his clothes.  
  
Kagome turned her eyes from the wound, letting her eyes rest upon a higher part of his torso. She took one look at his chest, and she let out a little squeal.  
  
"What?" Inuyasha asked in alarm, straightening his posture to make it easier for him to spring up if there was a youkai. Kagome looked shocked, pointing to a spot on the boy's chest. Inuyasha turned his eyes to the boy's chest, and he let out an audible gasp.  
  
Right there, in the middle of the boy's chest, was the mark of a blue star.  
  
"Oh Kami," he said softly. "This kid... this kid has a star mark." Talk about stating the obvious.  
  
"Ee. He's a future palace guard..." Kagome trailed off as hot tears threatened to flow out of her eyes.  
  
Inuyasha tried shaking the boy, his hand desperately seeking a pulse on the boy's body. The child was barely breathing, but had a very weak pulse.  
  
Kagome looked around and gasped again as her eyes found lump among the rocks a few meters away. She rushed over there, and sure enough, she found another child, about three or four years older than the first, also bearing a blue star on his chest.  
  
This child was more conscious than the first. The first child was almost dead, but this one still managed to make small hoarse calls for help.  
  
'This child must be the one whom Inuyasha heard,' she thought as she picked him up from the ground and carefully laid him on her lap.  
  
"Kagome! Where the fuck did you run off to?" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"I'm right here, Inuyasha! I found another child!" Kagome said, ripping of a piece of her skirt to push down on the child's bleeding lower chest. The child winced and opened his eyes, looking at her through hazy, unfocused brown orbs.  
  
"Hey kid... are you alright?" she asked in an attempt to make conversation. The kid shook his head slowly. No surprise there.  
  
"I... I ache... Boku no ototo wa doko?" he asked Kagome slowly.  
  
'Ototo... his younger brother... that other kid must be his younger brother!' Kagome nearly gasped again at the thought. Both children had star marks... what did this mean?  
  
"Your younger brother is with my companion. He is safe, don't worry."  
  
"Iya... no he isn't. I saw him fall... that youkai... AARGH!" the child was cut off as he cried out in pain. The bleeding wasn't stopping and he was going paler and paler by the minute.  
  
"Hush... save your strength... you're wounded too." Kagome smiled softly at him. 'This child reminds me of my Souta-oniisan. He worries about others before himself.'  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Souta-oniisan!" Azalea shrieked as she saw her elder brother fall. He was a palace guard; she was the princess. They had been made to stop treating each other as relatives since they were summoned to the palace, and this was the first time in six years that she had called him 'elder brother' one again. Hardly anyone knew that the princess and one of the palace guards were brother and sister.  
  
Souta rose slowly, facing Naraku, his anger coming off him in waves. "You will not TOUCH my sister, Naraku! You would have to kill me first!"  
  
"Very well then," Naraku said calmly, raising a hand to fire a blast of youki, when Sango dove at him from behind. Naraku nearly fell to the ground, and Sango used that chance to launch an attack.  
  
Youki blazed from Sango's open palm, but it was not strong enough to hurt Naraku. He simply released a blast that would have terribly wounded Sango.  
  
Souta saw this, and in a sudden surge of strength, leapt at Sango and pushed her out of the way. Being as badly wounded as he is, the blast knocked him off easily, mortally wounding him. He was thrown across the floor to slump against the high throne.  
  
"SOUTA!" Sango screamed as Kagome let out a painful shriek.  
  
"ONIISAN!!!"  
  
She bent down from her throne to stroke her dying brother's cheek. Souta lay there, looking at her hazily, before taking her hand in his.  
  
"Kagome... please, be careful... be strong for your niichann, imoto-chan... D-dai suki." He stuttered weakly, before going limp and closing his eyes in eternal rest.  
  
"ONIISAN!"  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
"Lady, do you... do you have a star mark?" the boy asked, cutting off Kagome's sad thoughts. This confused kagome.  
  
"No... but my companion does. Why?"  
  
The child suddenly looked alarmed. "Then you have been lost for days too?"  
  
"Yes. How did you... did the same happen to you and your ototo?" she asked as she ripped off some badages from the roll she carried with her.  
  
"Yes... this desert traps people with star marks. Then the youkai kill them... make your friend leave this place... the youkai won't harm you but your friend..."  
  
"Oh my god..." Kagome gasped, before turning to Inuyasha.  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
Just as she shouted his name though, a large hound-like youkai, with gleaming red eyes and long sharp fangs rushed at Inuyasha and the child he held from behind.  
  
"INUYASHA, LOOK OUT!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: That was it for chap 15! I hope you liked it, and please don't kill me if you didn't. If you kill me, I can't finish the story for those who did like it. Lol!  
  
Anyway, I hope you don't mind that I made the shikon no tama function differently in this fic. I figured that since this is AU, the shikon no tama could fit in with my story in a different way.  
  
Anyway, a certain email reviewer noticed something, and I decided to say it here as well. Yup, I try to answer my reviewer's questions through my next chap. I actually think up possible questions and answer them here. I do that because I know that my fic can be awfully confusing, so I try my best not to leave anyone hanging, without divulging things that would practically tell them how the fic ends.  
  
And yes, I have a countdown of days for this fic. At present, Inuyasha has been in Crystallia for 23 days.  
  
Responses (email reviews not here)!  
  
Upper Class: Actually, I just his name. ^_^ I don't really like the idea of Miroku having a "foe" for Sango's affections, lol! I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review!  
  
RavenShadow: I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review! ^_^  
  
LiLmissy16: Uy, bagong name! Anyway, I'm glad you think my last chap was 'adorable'. LOL! You really seem enthusiastic about the kiss! And about Inu finding out, that would be in a few more chaps. Sorry. ^_^ By the way, are you still grounded? Man, that would really suck. Halos tumalon ako sa bangin pag grounded ako e. Anyway, your reviews are still the longest, don't worry. And hey, where did you see the Inuyasha movie2 trailer?! OMG, I've been DYING to see it! Sa internet din ba or sa animax? Kung sa internet, I'm BEGGING you for a link! Hindi ko alam kung kelan lalabas yung movie2 sa Pinas e, sorry. I tried asking Comic alley but the woman at the counter was clueless. And I WISH that I had a prof na kasing uto-uto nung teacher mo. Hay... Thanks for the 3 LONG reviews! Muwaah!  
  
Mikogurl: FF.net screwed with my name once too, but I managed to fix it up real quick. Anyway, I did take a long time with that kiss, ne? LOL! Thanks for the review!  
  
TheWraith: Yeah, that's right. Anyway, I hope this chap answered your other question. And about Kagura and Kanna... hmm... I'll think about it. I really haven't decided on what to do with those two. Thanks for the review!  
  
Kimberlee: Here's the chap! I'm glad you like my story, and sorry for the cliffy. Can't help it, hehe. Thanks for the review!  
  
Lilacks: Thanks! I do try. Anyway, thanks for the review!  
  
LisSakura: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!  
  
Meshenia: Hehe... I PROMISE not to shorten my chaps, just for you, lol! Besides, I realized that I couldn't bear to shorten them anyway. I'm glad you liked my last chap, I hope you liked this as well. Thanks for the review!  
  
Kitten Starr: I'm glad you like my story. Here's the chap! Thanks for the review!  
  
Diva Erinnus: Hehe... salamat! And about Kikyou, I hate her guts, lol! And, you'll add me to your list?! Oh, wow! Double salamat! Ano nga pala real name mo? Wala lang, just curious. ^_^ Salamat sa review!  
  
Trina: Hi Paulina! Wow, ever, pinagkalat mo ko?! Salamat! I'm glad you think I write well enough to tell others about my fic, even though nobody listened, hehe. Ikaw lang ang IY fan dyan? Aw, that's sooo... hard! At least naman may kilala ako dito na 3-5 people who are obsessed with IY, like me! One more thing, taga-saan ka? Wala lang, curious lang po ako. Hehe. I'm glad you like my story. Alubsu2 (as a reviewer, lol)! Thanks for the review!  
  
Vegito044: I'm glad you like my fic, and I hope this chap answered some of your questions, lol! Here's the update, and thanks for the review!  
  
Koinu-no-ai: Until 4 in the morning!? Wow... that's oddly flattering, you know what I mean? I know how confusing this fic could be. Like I said before, sometimes I confuse myself, lol! Thanks! I'm glad you like my story enough to read it till that late, er, early. Wow! Anyway, you spelled 'mysterious' right, don't worry. Thanks for the review, and please keep reading (and reviewing, *wink*)!  
  
Deamon Fighter: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!  
  
Litwolf689: I hope this chap answered your questions. ^_^ I'm glad you don't think it was cheesy. Anyway, thanks for the review, and I promise to keep writing, lol!  
  
Justmeh: Yeah, finally! I'm glad you don't' think it's cheesy. Anyway, thanks for the review!  
  
Subaruu0584: I'm sorry I didn't get to respond to you last time. Gah, I don't know HOW I managed NOT to read your review earlier! I guess ff,net's been screwing with my reviews again. Well, Kikyo isn't gonna be in this fic. I really don't like her. I hope this chap answered your other questions. Thanks for the review!  
  
So that's it! I'm still a hyper-active-buta because of all those reviews! Haha! As usual, I hope you liked this chap, and please read and review! Even criticisms are welcomed. At least I'll know what to fix if I get them. Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	16. The Mind Maze

A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 16. Please read and review. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

16. The Mind Maze

oooooooooo

"Hey kid, wake up. Are you ok?" Inuyasha tried to softly shake the kid awake. The child was unconscious as a rock and he was actually worried. This kid... a future palace guard. Surely he also had some powers despite his young age?

He turned to his side to regard Kagome, only to stop short when he realized that she was no longer there. "Kagome! Where the fuck did you run off to?" Inuyasha yelled.

"I'm right here, Inuyasha! I found another child!" he heard Kagome shout back, and he heard a faint ripping noise. He pulled a piece of cloth from within the folds of his robe and tied it around the child's abdomen, mentally wincing when the child gave out a low groan of discomfort. The child turned to his side, clutching his gaping wound, and opened his glazed brown eyes.

"Aniki..." the child called softly, turning his head up to look at Inuyasha.

"Iie. I'm Inuyasha. You ok?" he asked. He pressed down on the kid's chest as he tried to sit up. "Don't get up. Your wound looks pretty bad, kid."

"Aniki... I have to find my elder brother!" he replied weakly. "We've been lost for days, and this youkai... he tried to kill me and my oniisan..."

"Hush... cool it kid, we'll take care of it. Now I need to get you to a healer or something and..." he trailed off as the strong scent of blood invaded his nostrils. He looked down at the child and noted that his bleeding had almost stopped. Now why did he smell blood all over the place?

He sniffed around a bit and realized that the scent did not belong to just one person - the scent of blood hung heavily, as if someone had gathered blood samples from different people. Then another scent came up. It was the unmistakable scent of youkai.

The scent was coming from directly behind him and it was closing in on him rapidly. 'God damn youkai thinks he can sneak up on me, keh,' he thought as a smirk formed on his lips. He discreetly poised for a jump, ready to spring up suddenly once the youkai got to him. He heard Kagome shout his name about a moment before he felt the youkai upon him.

"INUYASHA! LOOK OUT!" Kagome screamed in panic a split second before he leaped off the ground and smartly avoided the youkai's claw attack.

Kagome let out the longest, loudest sigh of relief, letting out the huge gulp of breath she had been holding along with it. Inuyasha must have somehow known that the youkai was coming, and had jumped up at the last moment.

Inuyasha landed next to her kneeling form, where she still cradled the wounded boy on her lap. He set the small child he was holding down beside her, silently instructing her to keep an eye on the kid. Kagome nodded, and as Inuyasha leaped off for the youkai, she shouted, "Kiotskete kudasai, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha gave her a small wink that had her heart hammering in her chest, tingeing her cheeks pink. She was vaguely aware of the boy that she held, who was now trying to sit up and crawl over to his brother.

She kept her eyes trained on Inuyasha as she softly told both boys to lie down and rest. She bit her lip, almost drawing blood as she watched the hanyou intently.

Inuyasha leaped up into the air, pulling out Tetsusaiga as he slowly neared the ground. He aimed for the youkai's head, but the youkai was not exactly slow. The canine youkai dodged his attack, making Inuyasha shatter the ground that he landed in, taking a few dead trees down with him.

Inuyasha turned to the youkai, golden eyes blazing as he raised Tetsusaiga. He was furious, but confused. The youkai that now stood before him reeked of blood... but the blood of the two children he had found were not among the mingling scents of various slain individuals that tainted the youkai he was now fighting.

He strode up to the youkai again, wondering if it would be proper to 'practice' the Kaze no Kizu on it. He swiftly decided against it, concluding that there were other youkai in the area that could possibly be stronger than the one he had here. The last time he had used the Kaze no Kizu, he had gotten exhausted. Thinking that he would lose his stamina before some powerful youkai easily irked him.

This was a relatively weak one. He raised his sword higher as the youkai rushed at him, and brought it down on the youkai's head with an angry battle cry.

No big... he sliced the youkai in half easily. Man, he loved his sword!

He sheathed Tetsusaiga as he walked towards where Kagome sat nursing the wounded kids. Kagome was looking at him with wide, relieved eyes, a hand on each of the two children.

"Mou," she said once he was near her. "You scared me, baka!"

"Keh," he retorted. "You should have known that that youkai was no match for me."

"You still scared me, dammit!"

"Ok! Sorry," he said, kneeling down beside her. "Are they ok?"

"I don't know Inuyasha," she replied. The elder of the two boys had now crawled over to his younger brother, weakly putting an arm around his ototo's torso. Both now lay unconscious, and Inuyasha felt a pang in his chest as he looked at the brothers.

"Do you think those two will... make it?" he asked reluctantly. Kagome smiled sadly.

"Wakaranai, Inuyasha," she said softly. "I wish there was some way I could help them, though..."

Inuyasha stared for a while, before remembering something. "Oi, Kagome? Don't you have those weird powers that come out of your arrows? The same thing that makes weird barriers? Couldn't you use that on these kids?" he asked hopefully.

Kagome gave him a strange look. Did he mean her holy powers? But... her present powers were weak. Without the Shikon's power within her, she was much weaker. The powers she had now were the powers present in her since birth, the ones enhanced by the shikon. Could she save these children with it?

"Inuyasha... I can try but... I don't know if it will work," she said, uncertainty in her voice. Inuyasha just grinned at her.

"Come on, Kagome! You're a strong onna! Your powers could save these kids! What did you call them once? Holy powers? Purifying powers? Surely, you could do something. Purify their wounds, at least. The wounds WERE made by evil beings, so you could probably purify it," Inuyasha said, eying her.

"Well... yeah. Demo... I don't know if my powers are strong enough."

"Listen," Inuyasha interrupted. "I have complete confidence in you," he said, and Kagome thought she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink. "I'll even help you out. I don't know how, but I will! I mean... I have powers too, right? I can probably share them or something, I dunno! But I'll try. It wouldn't hurt to try, ne?"

Kagome smiled at him. "Hai, you're right. There's no chance of them getting hurt in this, after all! If it doesn't work, we'll just have to find a doctor REAL soon. If it does, then it would be wonderful!"

Both tried to decide on how to do it. One kid at a time or do their experiment on both at once? They silently decided to try to heal both kids at once.

Kagome held a hand over the brothers hesitantly, trying to decide what to do. Back when she still had the shikon, she would just hold on to the gem and whisper her prayers to the gods, but without it, how would she manage?

A hand on her outstretched one startled her out of her confused thoughts. She looked up and smiled at Inuyasha's hopeful gaze, lowering her hand, and his, onto the two fallen bodies.

Inuyasha was actually very nervous, about what, he didn't know. But he was. He just followed Kagome's unsure movements and tried to encourage her, though he actually needed some encouragement himself.

Kagome closed her eyes and began murmuring some words, too low for even his keen hearing to pick up. Not knowing what to do, Inuyasha just crunched his eyes up and let Kagome do the work, trying to will his power into Kagome. Mind you, he had no idea how to do it. He just kinda... prayed.

They sat there for what seemed like hours, Kagome silently chanting and Inuyasha risking some short glances at his partner. He did notice though, that with each passing minute, he felt as if some of his powers were draining from him, merging with another force.

After what seemed like an eternity, a bright light engulfed the four people and died down, revealing an exhausted miko and a confused hanyou. They both took a moment to regain their breaths, before glancing down at the children they helped.

The kids were now starting to stir, their wounds not completely healed but assured of survival and recovery. The elder child looked up and rubbed his eyes, looking completely astonished.

"I'm alive?" he asked disbelievingly, before exclaiming. "Michi-chan!"

His younger brother had also begun stirring, and he looked up at his elder brother in delight. "Aniki?"

Kagome and Inuyasha just smiled at each other.

oooooooooo

'Shikon no Tama...'

Kagura sat before the dome, pondering the mysteries of the jewel. As usual, Naraku had sent her there to feed Azalea.

'The idiot... everybody else has figured out that Azalea is gone. He is the only one who believes that the princess is still under his control,' she thought in disdain, glaring angrily at the barrier that now only held nothing more than the shikon no tama.

Even she did not understand it, though. How could a single measly jewel fool all of them into thinking that IT was the princess? It had almost acted as if it had a mind of its own. Or maybe...

Kagura stood straight and chewed thoughtfully on the sprig of food that was supposed to be for Azalea. 'Maybe the jewel can't think on its own... it can feel!' she thought triumphantly.

Yes, that had to be it! She vaguely recalled that the strong, pulsing power within the orb grew gradually more violent the longer they stayed near it. The more evil it sensed, the more violently it reacted, so that when they threatened her, even verbally, the shikon no tama would sense the malice and evil, making it react.

"Maybe it senses evil and repels it once it sticks around for too long!" she whispered in excited glee. "Man, I'm smart!" she said with a grin as she noticed that the dome was once again starting to glow more brightly.

oooooooooo

The portal's glitch was not budging. Sango had been trying to fix the glitch since the day she learned of it, but so far...

"Kuso," she muttered. She was greatly upset by now. At the rate the glitch was going, Inuyasha's time in Crystallia might even be shortened! Oh, he's is NOT going to like this!

"KUSO!" she screamed, nearly making her pet, Kirara, jump out of her fur. "Oh, gomen, Kirara. I didn't mean to surprise you."

The small fuzzy neko youkai shook her head and went over to sit on Sango's lap. Her mistress was upset... she could see it clearly. Sango had begun to stroke her fur absently, looking for all the world like a lost child.

Kirara purred up at Sango, making the latter smile. "Mmm... daijobu, Kirara. I was just thinking," she paused. "This glitch in the portal... Inuyasha-sama will be very upset. The glitch is growing and..."

Sango sighed in defeat. "I don't understand... the glitch... will now only allow him to stay in Crystallia for six weeks! Meaning, he now has less than three weeks to rescue the princess and get home."

Kirara stared up at Sango in interest. Her mistress was clearly in trouble for this. She scratched at her side, where a tiny bandage still stayed. She climbed up on Sango's shoulder and begun to nuzzle her cheek.

Sango giggled. "Kirara," she said with a small smile. "I am so glad you're back. You were so badly injured in that last fight that at first, I didn't think you would survive..."

"But now I don't think I could let myself live it down if an entire realm is destroyed. Inuyasha-sama's world... now he has less time. And Miroku's assumption that he has met someone - he would be furious! We just managed to escape his wrath, and now," Sango sighed again. "He will probably hate me now..."

oooooooooo

"I don't know if I can ever thank you two enough for saving me and Michi! Arigatou!"

The boys had been constantly thanking the pair since they realized that it was Kagome and Inuyasha who had helped them recover. Kagome was smiling softly, and Inuyasha had offered to carry the younger kid on his shoulders.

"We told you Shiro-kun, it's ok. Now we just have to find our way out of this maze!" Kagome said brightly, Inuyasha nodding vigorously.

"I just have one question though," Inuyasha said thoughtfully. "How did you two runts get all the way here? The nearest civilization is kilometers away!"

"Well..." Shiro, the elder kid began. "I don't really know. We were just walking around the garden, then the next thing we realized, we were here! We didn't even know that we had gone off too far!"

"NO!" Michi interjected in his small voice from his perch on Inuyasha's shoulder. "We saw that weird spider... then we got here."

"Oh yeah... a spider. But it's not like the spider can harm us! We saw it, went on walking, then suddenly, we got here." Shiro argued.

"And we've been lost for days!" Michi said, looking at Kagome. "I wanna get back home. Our mother is going to have another baby real soon, and I want to be there when my baby sister is born!"

"I told you, mom said she doesn't know if the baby's a girl or a boy!" Shiro argued.

"I want a baby sister! Then maybe she could have a star mark like us, and we could all go live at the palace with the princess when we grow up!"

"When they find the princess, you mean..."

Kagome, however, had a far-off look in her eyes. 'A spider...'

"Michi-kun, Shiro-kun, could any of you tell me how the spider looked like?" she asked. Both boys stopped bickering to look at her in puzzlement.

"Well," Shiro began. "I didn't really look at it too well. It was just a dumb spider. It was Michi who really took the time to watch it."

"It was nice, with three red stripes on its back. It also had weird eyes. They were kind of... well, I can see through them! They look just like Inuyasha-niichan's hair!" Michi said excitedly.

Kagome gasped, and Inuyasha looked at her in complete bewilderment. "Oi, Kagome. Do you know something about these spiders?"

"Actually," Kagome said. "That was not a spider. It was a kumoga-youkai."

"A spider youkai?" Inuyasha queried. "So, is that thing responsible for us being trapped here?"

"I think so... I've heard of a spell that spider youkai perform for their masters. It's called a mind maze, I think."

The three clueless members of the male species just stared at her. "I meant, yes, they were responsible for this."

"Oh..." the three said in realization.

"But I do not know exactly how that happened. Neither do I know how we can get out of here," Kagome added sheepishly.

"Well then," Inuyasha said slowly. "Maybe Miroku knows?"

"I'll bet he does, but I don't think the amulet would work here."

"I can try," Inuyasha replied. He put Michi down and took the amulet out of his robes. "Miroku!" he hollered, expecting to see the monk's face appear at his request.

"What the fuck!" he cursed. "Oi, Miroku!" Nothing. 'Kami, what now?'

"I told you. I believe that the youkai that brought us here have actually brought us into a different reality. We can't have access to a world other than this one. THAT was probably why we've been lost for days." Kagome said uncertainly.

"Shit. So, we have to go kill whoever has brought us over here for us to get back to our quest?" Inuyasha asked in a rage, scaring Michi in the process.

"Inuyasha, please do try to control your temper. You are scaring the heck out of the boys," Kagome said calmly.

"What the fuck are you talking about, wench? These kids are future palace guards! They'll be facing stuff much worse than me," he replied heatedly.

"That's exactly why! These two will be facing so much, and while it is not their time to go to the palace yet... they should keep their innocence, ne?" Kagome smiled.

Inuyasha gave her a strange look. 'So she doesn't want them distressed until their time for the palace comes. She must be talking like that from experience. Her brother is a guard, after all.'

"Keh."

They continued walking, but now, unlike the aimless walks they had a few minutes before, all four were rather tense. Inuyasha kept sniffing the surroundings for threats; Kagome was looking around and now had a tight grip on the bow that was slung on her back; Shiro and Michi were walking slowly, both looking alert despite their remaining injuries.

Inuyasha risked a glance at the two kids. Michi's gash still looked painful, and Shiro's was still swollen, but both fought to keep any trace of pain out of their faces. 'Brave kids,' he thought. 'I guess they really were made to be palace warriors.'

Inuyasha abruptly stopped at the scent of blood. Kagome noticed this and stiffened.

"You smell something, don't you?" she asked apprehensively.

Inuyasha nodded. "Don't YOU sense anything, Kagome?"

Kagome looked pensive for a while, before slowly nodding. "Demo... I can't tell exactly where it is coming from... Shiro-kun, can you tell? You have powers, ne?"

Shiro shook his head. "Gomen... but since the day of the princess' kidnap, our powers have practically been non-existent."

Kagome looked confused for a second, before remembering. "Naraku's spell... nobody with a star mark can use their powers outside the palace."

A sharp gasp brought all attention to Michi. He was staring at something in a distance, apparently at something minute. His eyes were nearly bugging out and it took Inuyasha a half moment to realize what had caught the kid's attention.

"Oi... do you see the spider?" he asked. The child nodded almost dumbly.

"It's... on that rock," he stated, and Inuyasha slowly drew Tetsusaiga out of its scabbard, approaching the rock. The children gasped at the sight of the sword. Kagome too, notched an arrow onto her bow, ready to fire.

The spider was tiny, but Inuyasha noticed that it tried desperately to remain inconspicuous. It wasn't succeeding. A faint glow was coming off the spider, totally giving away the fact that it IS a youkai.

As Inuyasha raised his sword, it seems the youkai could no longer hold his disguise. It started to grow in size, until a bright red light enveloped him. When the light cleared, all four people gasped.

The youkai had the body of a spider and the head of a scraggly old woman. The red lines on its back were fiery and aglow. The foremost leg on either side of it had sharp pincer-like claws, and Kagome noticed that the youkai was repeatedly snapping them. Inuyasha noticed that hound youkai were emerging from the shadows, one by one with each snap of the kumogashira's pincers.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome began in slight panic. The two boys were now hiding desperately behind Kagome, holding onto each other in fright.

"Kagome," Inuyasha began, not taking his eyes off the large spider youkai and the hounds around them. "Take the kids to safety. I'll..."

Kagome cut him off. "No, Inuyasha. I will NOT let you handle this alone!"

"But the kids!"

"They'll be safer here! At least they'll have the two of us to protect them!" Kagome objected. "Besides, where did you plan for me to take them, hmm?"

Inuyasha blinked at that. 'She makes a lot of sense actually.'

"Alright wench, you win. Keep 'em here!" he shouted back, still not daring to turn his head from the spider and the hounds. He slowly inched back towards them, sword raised, and whispered to Kagome, "You take care of as many hounds as you can. I'll still help, don't worry," he interjected when Kagome began to interrupt. "But leave the asshole spider to me."

Kagome nodded and made the boys huddle more closely around her. Inuyasha, however, decided to start off the classic way - slicing the youkai to bits. He ran at the youkai and let out a loud angry shout as he leapt into the air, intending to come down on the youkai.

Of course, the youkai wouldn't make that too easy for him. It dodged his attack, and he was met by about twenty hounds. Inuyasha tried to spin around and jump at the kumogashira once again, only to be stopped when the hounds jumped on him.

"God dammit!" he shouted as one of them bit painfully on his left arm. He shook them off in anger, but some stubbornly remained there. In frustration, he struck out a "Sankontessou! Take that, you mangy, bloodthirsty hounds!", killing at least two beasts with each strike.

When he finally managed to free himself of the attacking youkai, he searched his line of sight again for the spider youkai. It was wordlessly cackling a few meters from him, and he decided to try to hit her again.

He tried to slice it up, but was again met by the same problem. More hounds came, almost out of nowhere, and decided that ripping him to shreds was a good pastime.

He was now bloody and torn, and decided to use that to his advantage. "Hijinkessou!" he attacked, taking down another lot of them. This time, before he even finished off the lot that were on him, he jumped at the spider and managed to slice a long bloody gash across its disgusting back.

The youkai let out a scream, calling on more hounds to surround it. Inuyasha, however, began to thin that it was a tad old by now, and decided to end it by practicing a certain new wind attack. He turned to face the wounded spider youkai, who had more than a dozen hounds surrounding her.

He tried to remember the time when he had first used the attack - the time he fought those two youkai. He concentrated in gathering up as much youki as he possibly could. He closed his eyes as he felt the hardly familiar waves of youki begin to surround his sword.

Kagome was standing a few meters behind Inuyasha, facing in the opposite direction. She was doing fine, taking down one hound with each arrow, but she knew that she was bound to run out of arrows. She was running low, as it was. There were a lot of them, and Michi was hanging on to her like a lifeline. Shiro didn't seem to be behind her though.

"Shiro-kun, where are you?" she asked in frantic fright. She looked over her shoulder and saw him standing right behind Inuyasha, who was preparing what she now knew was the Kaze no Kizu. The boy was transfixed on the large sword, jaw hanging agape as he looked on. She noticed that he was holding one of her arrows, a bloody one at that. He must have just pulled it out of one of the many youkai that she had slain.

'Inuyasha is going to use the Kaze no Kizu on the spider youkai... gods I hope it works!' she thought as she notched another arrow and hit another youkai. "Shiro-kun, get back over here!" she shouted. The boy didn't even move.

Inuyasha knew he had to hurry with the youkai. He had already lost three precious days in there... he had to get out of the spider's lair NOW!

He opened his eyes slowly, and grinned in animal malice at seeing the large waves of youki surrounding his sword and body. He raised his sword, just the way he had three nights ago, and let out a shout as he swung it down violently, right between the gap in the wind.

"KAZE NO KIZU!"

The youkai's eyes widened at this, and let out an ear-splitting shriek as the waves of powerful youki came upon it. Inuyasha shielded his eyes as his attack left a blinding fiery light as it consumed the youkai, and the hounds that surrounded it. When the light died down, it had all but disintegrated.

The lot of youkai that had surrounded Kagome were also gone by now, having fallen one by one by her merciless arrows. Kagome was panting lightly, and like after every battle, her quiver was once again empty. Inuyasha turned to her with a grin.

Just as he turned though, one remaining hound youkai decided to jump out and mangle the man who had killed a lot of his kind. He jumped out, fangs and claws bared, ready to rip Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome screamed, her heart in her throat.

But too late... The hound was now practically on top of him.

Inuyasha was just about to turn when he heard the youkai let out a pained howl. He started when he saw Shiro standing behind him, one hand outstretched, as if he had just thrown a javelin. Inuyasha looked down, and right before his feet lay the now dead hound who had been about to attack him. He had one of Kagome's arrows through him, but the arrow was not shining with Kagome's holy power.

Shiro had thrown that arrow like a javelin at the offending monster.

"Whoa..." he breathed. "Nice throw kid! I owe you one!"

Shiro looked rather bashful. "It was nothing, honest."

"Whatever kid," Inuyasha replied. He bent down to pick up the child, when he caught a scent on the youkai that Shiro had just killed.

"Oi, Shiro," he said as he placed the kid on his back for a minor piggyback ride. "This hound that you just killed smells strongly of your blood, and your brother's. If I'm not mistaken, this is the same one that attacked you a while ago."

"Honto?" Shiro asked. He brightened when Inuyasha nodded. "Wow... so I kinda avenged the two of us, ne?"

Inuyasha grinned, and noticed that the forest around them seemed to be melting into a different scenario.

"Inuyasha, the youkai's spell is disappearing!" Kagome said brightly when he reached her. The dark forest was slowly melting into the outskirts of a human settlement.

"Our village! We're home!" Michi said from his place in Kagome's arms.

Shiro looked delighted as Inuyasha let him off his shoulders. He looked up at Inuyasha with unmasked adoration. "How could we ever thank the two of you?"

"It was nothing, pup. Now get back to town. Your parents are probably going bananas with worry." Inuyasha replied. "Besides, you saved me, remember?"

"Hai... arigatou, Inuyasha-niichan. Arigatou, Kagome-neechan," Shiro bowed to each of them in turn.

"It was nothing. Now go home. You've been through a lot of stuff today," Kagome said with a smile.

Both boys nodded, then ran off hand in hand. "Bye! We'll never forget you!"

"Same here!" Kagome waved back. Inuyasha was also waving.

She sighed as both boys left and ran into the village. 'There go the sons that I will never have,' she thought sadly.

"Oi, what's with the long face? Don't worry about them, they'll be safe now," Inuyasha said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Hai. I know they will," she replied, putting a hand on Inuyasha's.

"But you'll miss them, right?"

She nodded. Inuyasha just grinned. "Tell you what," he said. "When we finish the quest, we'll drop over that town and see them, ne?"

"Ok," she said with a tiny smile.

"Good. Now... time for a talk with Miroku..."

oooooooooo

"They call it the "mind maze" phenomenon. Typically it is caused by a spider youkai's web. It normally only affects non-magically inclined humans' and animals' senses, though there's rumors of a rare variety of spider youkai that could affect the senses of even a star mark bearer. Basically the reason they go in a circle is because it's a huge web that confounds the sensing ability of star mark bearers, making them easy prey or so it normally goes," Miroku explained to the ever-annoyed Inuyasha.

Miroku then grinned. "I am so proud of you both Inuyasha! You managed to escape the spider's lair!" he said sneakily. 'This oughta catch him!' he thought.

Miroku was the one who got caught though.

"Yeah. It was hard, but we managed," Inuyasha replied carelessly. He didn't even notice that he had just let something slip.

Miroku gaped at him, and as usual, Inuyasha didn't seem to notice. "Well," the inu hanyou went on, "I have a long way to go. See you kouzo," he said, before closing up the amulet.

Miroku just continued gawking. 'I was right!' he thought as he rushed off, looking for Sango.

"Sango-sama!" he called as he reached the hallway that led to her room. "Sango-sama!" he called once again as he reached her door. He began to pound on the heavy wooden door that led to her room.

"Houshi-sama? Chotto matte yo! Just wait a bit, I'm coming!" she answered, her voice rather muffled.

He practically stumbled in the moment Sango opened the door. He barely noticed that Sango was upset.

"Sango," he went on. "He IS traveling with someone! I actually confirmed it this time! He let it slip! Now I don't know who that person is, but just WHY doesn't he want to tell us about his companion? I can't help but think that... Sango-sama, daijobu?" he asked when he noticed that slow tears were dripping down her face.

"Hai. Daijobu..."

"No you're not fine. Tell me about it, Sango-sama. I might be able to help."

Sango sucked in a breath before starting. She told him about the growing glitch and how it would reduce Inuyasha's time in Crystallia, and her fears about Inuyasha not ever being able to forgive her.

Miroku sighed as she finished her talk. Tears of frustration were now flooding her eyes and flowing steadily down her cheeks.

"That is a problem Sango. But we will figure something out. I promise," he said with finality.

oooooooooo

A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 16. Please read and review.

ScarletRaven1001


	17. Disclosures

A/N: Bwahahahaha! I *finally* have a copy of the second Inuyasha movie! I thought it would NEVER be out here in the Philippines and that I'd have to visit Japan again just to get a copy, but I thought wrong, thank the gods! Bwahahahaha! I am TOTALLY ecstatic! Ooooh... I am like, itching to talk about it, but I don't wanna give spoilers to those unfortunate few who have not seen it yet. OMG, "The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass" is soooo cool! Maybe not *way* better than "Love that Transcends Time", but heck, it sure is better than "Trouble in Nekonron China"! That Ranma movie totally disappointed me! Oooh... I am still all giggly and stuff! I can barely concentrate! My mind keeps drifting off to Kagome and Inuyasha's first kiss! Gah! Would you believe that I actually *dreamed* about the movie! I was totally screaming with glee and giggle pooper while I was watching it the first time, I think my neighbors might have gone deaf. I just got it last Thursday afternoon, and I have already watched it four times! And you all know just how much stuff I had to do these past few days!  
  
Anyway, this chap is a product of my hyperactive, romance-infused brain... meaning it would probably be fluffy beyond belief. Don't worry, nothing sickening is in here... demo... bwahahahaha! Just read it!  
  
Disclaimer: I own Inuyasha! Bwahahaha! Now would somebody please let me out of this nuthouse? It's kinda cramped in here.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Disclosures  
  
-----/---@  
  
"You god-fucking idiotic morons!"  
  
The loud, angry snarl was enough to frighten birds into hibernation. Inuyasha stood, fists clenched, staring heatedly at the faces in the amulet he held tightly in his right hand.  
  
"You stupid shiznits! How could you let the fucking glitch fucking grow!?! You flea-brained, assholes! You leave me 18 fucking days to complete a task that I am barely halfway through!" Inuyasha yelled furiously.  
  
Sango's eyes were now full of tears, her cheeks completely soaked. Tears of fright, sadness and guilt. Miroku stood beside her, looking off to the side in apprehension.  
  
"Inuyasha, please try to understand. We have done EVERYTHING that we could to stop the glitch, but nothing worked. We are both very sorry," he said, before Inuyasha started yelling again.  
  
"I don't fucking care! My world is in danger! What if I don't rescue the princess on time! I can't let my world die! I'd have to drop the fucking quest, and do you have any idea how heavily that would weigh on my fucking conscience?!"  
  
He turned to Sango directly. Inuyasha usually hated seeing women cry, but right now, his anger was far too great for him to care. He didn't even flinch at the sight of her swollen eyes.  
  
"Oi Sango!" he snarled. "You're the one in charge of the spiritual shit. What the fuck is the problem?"  
  
Sango sputtered out her reply. "Gomen, In-Inuya-yasha! I did ev-everything I c-could! The glitch just wouldn't grow any smaller! I g-got it to lessen up a bit but..."  
  
"You mean, it would have been worse?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"H-hai. It would have left you only 5 weeks max, but I managed to fix it up a bit. I'm sorry I couldn't do any better."  
  
Inuyasha was still mad, but now felt bad for Sango. She had done everything she could... it just wasn't possible anymore.  
  
He forced himself to calm down. He tried to ease his scowl and barely succeeded. "Ok, ok. I'll calm down. Sorry. If you were in my place you'd be furious too! I'll call you both later."  
  
He closed up the amulet and clenched his eyes tight, slumping against the dry tree he was leaning against. A hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome called hesitantly.  
  
"Daijobu, Kagome. I'm sorry if I went out of control again."  
  
"Iie. It's not that," she answered, and he slowly opened his eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said. "I know you must be afraid for your world... don't be. We can do it. We are now more than halfway to the garnet tower, you know. It won't be too hard!"  
  
Inuyasha just had to smile at that. "As impossible as I think that would be... hearing it from you has kinda mollified me. I'll take your word for it."  
  
Kagome grinned at him. "Good," she said. "Shall we go now?"  
  
He nodded and stood, walking alongside Kagome.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"KAGURA!!"  
  
The angered snarl rang through the empty halls of the garnet tower. Kagura winced at the volume of the furious shout, and she stood hesitantly, slowly walking toward the sound of her master's voice.  
  
'Where the fuck could that asshole Naraku be?' she thought in annoyance, trying to sniff around in case she caught a whiff of him. And she did - he was in the princess' prison chamber.  
  
She knocked once as she reached the door, before opening it. "Nani, Naraku- sama?" she asked, not even lifting her gaze from her feet as she walked into the room. A few seconds passed and he said nothing. Kagura didn't know why she had been called for, so she lifted her gaze and began to ask, but what she saw jogged a gasp from her throat.  
  
Naraku stood in the middle of the dome room, shaking in anger and clutching maliciously at a round shining jewel. His eyes were ablaze, and Kagura noticed, for the first time, that the dome barrier no longer stood in the center of the room.  
  
"Shimatta," she softly cursed, not daring to take her eyes from the scene before her.  
  
"Do you know what is lacking in this room, Kagura?" Naraku asked, his furious eyes never leaving hers.  
  
"Ano... Azalea has... she is gone!" she said softly, feigning shock. 'If he finds out that I have know long before, he will kill me.'  
  
"Aa," Naraku said. "All that is left is THIS!" he shouted, holding up the shikon no tama with a shaking hand. "She has escaped! How did that happen?!"  
  
Kagura decided to play the innocent victim. "I - I do not know... she... I didn't even know that she was gone! How... how long has she..."  
  
"You ignorant fool! You don't know anything! Didn't I tell you and Kanna to keep a careful eye on her?" Naraku shouted, and Kagura pretended to cower in fear. "She has been gone for a very long time... her scent barely remains here. All she left is this... the shikon no tama. I can't believe she managed to fool us all!"  
  
Naraku kept staring at the jewel in anger. "She has stored her powers here so that she can escape... where could she be?"  
  
Kagura just looked at the jewel. "I don't know, Naraku-sama."  
  
"Of course you don't," he snapped. "Where is Azalea?!" he hollered again, before suddenly cutting himself off.  
  
"That woman... Kagome... could SHE be hiding the princess?"  
  
Kagura nearly rolled her eyes. 'How thick can you get?' she thought in dismay.  
  
"Or," he suddenly said. "Maybe she IS Azalea! Kagome did appear quite suddenly, and has remained a mystery for long... How could I have been so stupid! I have been pushing her towards another man! This can't be... she's MINE!" he shouted, looking for all the world like he was talking to himself in a personal chamber.  
  
Kagura then put on her acting mask once again. "Demo, how can Kagome be the princess? You know as well as I do that Kagome does not even bear a star mark."  
  
"That's what I want you to find out... you are lucky that I did not kill you for your idiocy... letting the princess escape. But now, I want you to find out whether or not she IS Azalea." Naraku snarled, before dismissing Kagura.  
  
"I want my woman back," he said to himself softly, pocketing the shikon no tama.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Ok... truth!" Kagome said playfully.  
  
"Alright then... let's see..." Inuyasha replied.  
  
The pair was walking on a particularly dry plain, in the late afternoon, playing a game of truth or dare. This was the worst place they had ever been to, so far. All the other places had at least a town or a few animals for sight seeing, but this one was just plain empty. There weren't even any dry trees or caves.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"It's hot," Kagome remarked in irritation.  
  
"Really? I didn't notice," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "Come on, Kagome! If there is anything about Crystallia that is predictable, it is this: Crystallia is fucking HOT."  
  
"It wasn't like this before I - I mean, Azalea got abducted. Crystallia was beautiful then!" Kagome insisted. "This place is just too BARE! Look around you! And I'm bored. We usually at least have something to look at while we travel."  
  
Kagome was downright dejected. 'That, and you're too quiet today,' she thought. 'You've been like this since you found about the new glitch yesterday.'  
  
"I gotta admit, this place is creepy," Inuyasha replied. "And hey, how can you walk yourself exhausted and be bored at the same time?"  
  
"I just am, ok? This place is too hot, too empty and too QUIET," she snapped, putting emphasis on that last word.  
  
"Quiet, huh? Then why don't we make some noise?" Inuyasha asked with a grin.  
  
"What are you playing at?"  
  
"Nothing! I was just saying that maybe we should at least TALK or something," he answered in defense. "I know! We can play truth or dare while we walk!"  
  
"Play?" Kagome asked in confusion. 'Inuyasha wants to play?'  
  
"What, don't tell me you haven't heard of truth or dare before?"  
  
"Well actually... no."  
  
"Kami, are you Crystallians THAT ignorant? Ok, it goes like this..."  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
After Inuyasha had explained the game, Kagome smiled and nodded. They had started off with VERY harmless questions - favorite color, parent's names, hobbies, stuff like that. For the dares, they had shouted "I am a hungry puppy", played out scenes on movies or plays and other silly things.  
  
"Man, I'm running out of questions!" Inuyasha exclaims with a curt laugh.  
  
"Oh, come on! You can do it!" Kagome replies with her own giggle.  
  
"Let's see... I know! Kagome... have you ever had a boyfriend before?" he asked, still desperately holding on to his smile. He tried to sound oh-so- casual about his question, but in truth, it was bugging the hell out of him.  
  
Kagome is a beautiful girl... a beautiful girl with whom he was passionately in love with. He waited with bated breath as a slow grin spread over Kagome's rosy lips, hoping she didn't have too many before.  
  
"That's personal," she teased. "Anyway, gomen Inuyasha. I have NEVER had a boyfriend before. Ever."  
  
He let his breath out in relief. 'That's great!' he thought in glee. 'So I was the first to kiss her. Weeell... HA!'  
  
He grinned at her. "Your turn."  
  
"Ok. Inuyasha, truth or dare," Kagome said, giggling.  
  
"Ok... truth!"  
  
"Great. So, how many girlfriends have YOU ever had?" Kagome asked, also trying to remain cool about it. She waited for his response with a fake smirk.  
  
"Ha, no news for you Kag. I've never had one."  
  
She nearly sighed in relief. "Why?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned at her. "Ask me the next time I say truth."  
  
"Fine. I'm next right? Ok, I'll pick dare this time!" Kagome said, her pace quick.  
  
"Ok. Dare... I dare you to do eight cartwheels without stopping!" Inuyasha declared.  
  
"Easy," Kagome replied, before swiftly accomplishing her dare. "Tada!"  
  
"Good. Ok, I pick truth!"  
  
"Aw, you're no fun!" Kagome said with a cheerful pout. "Ok, WHY haven't you ever had any girlfriends?" He was handsome, and she knew he could have anyone he wanted. Also, from their little game, she found that Inuyasha was extremely rich in his world, and that a lot of females had the hots for him.  
  
She grinned widely, expecting another smart-aleck reply like "females are boring, so I never bothered" or "keh". She lost her grin when he suddenly looked into her eyes seriously.  
  
"I've never had any," he began. "Because no one has ever actually caught my attention. A lot of girls in my world stared at me like they would a trophy, but I never paid attention to any of them. They didn't have the things that I wanted in a woman... Heck, I hardly ever dated. If I ever did, that was just out of necessity. Besides, I don't wanna just get a girl for fun. If ever I do get a girlfriend, it would be special... because I'd only court a woman if I were in love with her. I've never fallen for anyone in my world."  
  
He smiled as he finished. "Ok, your turn."  
  
"I pick truth."  
  
"Ok. Why haven't you had a boyfriend?"  
  
Kagome blanched. She had somehow been expecting that. "I... I just haven't had the time for men..." she replied. In their whole game, she had done everything she could to tell the truth without telling him who she really was. No fair lying when the game was TRUTH or dare.  
  
"And..." she added. "Well, nobody really liked me that way. Everybody respected me because of my powers, but they also feared me. Besides, like you, I don't want a short-term affair. I'll only get a boyfriend if I fall in love with him enough."  
  
Inuyasha smiled at her. "Dare."  
  
Kagome blinked. What would she ask him to do?  
  
"Ok. Shout out the name of the first person that comes to your mind when I say the word... morning," she dared, feeling lame.  
  
Inuyasha took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his lungs:  
  
"KAGOMEEEEEE!!!"  
  
Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. 'Me? Demo, why?'  
  
"I pick truth," Kagome said softly.  
  
Inuyasha grinned to himself. 'I have her flustered. Maybe now I could...'  
  
"Ok. How do you feel about this entire kidnapping fiasco?" he asked.  
  
Kagome stiffened. 'Should I tell him the ENTIRE truth?' she asked herself. She stared down at her feet, hesitating, before speaking.  
  
"Well... I'm really furious at Naraku for kidnapping the princess. Because of what he did, everyone is having a dreadful time. People are starving, death is everywhere, the youkai have all risen... but," she paused. She blushed before deciding to look up and look Inuyasha in the eye. "But I'm kinda glad this happened."  
  
She stopped right there, and Inuyasha nearly fainted in disappointment, but smiled nevertheless. 'Why is she glad?! I'll ask her next time.'  
  
"Truth," Inuyasha answered her questioning gaze.  
  
"Ok. What were you looking for in a girl that you just couldn't find in your world?" she asked slowly, a furious blush rising in her cheeks.  
  
He was quick to answer. "I want a brave girl. I'm not really too into gorgeous girls, but I know I want someone with dark hair," Kagome blushed at that. "I want a girl who has conviction. One who speaks her mind, is smart and has good intuition. One who knows how to deal with my fucking idiocy. Someone feisty and selfless, and I especially want a girl who isn't all that vain. I would easily fall for a caring, cheerful and thoughtful girl. She has to have bright smiling eyes that would be total contrary to my scowling face," he grinned. "She doesn't have to be perfect. I wouldn't mind if my girl was a bit hard-headed, or if she shows me that she actually needs me and my help. I'd really like knowing that I'm needed. Of course, the girl has to actually love ME and not my money. And now that I think about it... I want someone who can cook well," he concluded with a large grin.  
  
Kagome was overwhelmed. He seemed to have REALLY thought that over. "My turn. I pick truth again."  
  
"Good. What are your reasons for being glad about this trip?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
Kagome was blushing again. "I... I..." she stuttered. "I'm glad because... if it weren't for this trip... for this mission... I wouldn't have grown as much as I feel I have. I wouldn't have a reason to fight for myself and... I wouldn't have met you."  
  
It was now Inuyasha's turn to blush scarlet. Kagome just smiled shyly and continued. "Inuyasha... you're the first man to ever treat me like a friend, an equal. You protect me, help me get past my problems, and you're not afraid of me. You're my... my best friend..." she said. 'But to me, you're more than that.'  
  
Both absently felt the heat decrease, but paid no heed. The sky was growing darker, rain clouds covering the hot sunny sky.  
  
"Truth."  
  
Kagome hesitated. "Why... why did you shout out my name in my last dare?"  
  
Inuyasha blushed softly, never taking his eyes off her. Rain started to fall on them as they abruptly stopped walking, the drops cold on their nervously heated skin.  
  
"Because you said 'morning', that's why."  
  
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I meant, why my name at the word morning?"  
  
Inuyasha smiled at her again. The rain pounded down on them faster, harder, and had Kagome shivering with cold. Inuyasha took his haori off and placed it on her shoulders as he answered.  
  
"Because... you are the first thing I think of when I wake every *morning*. Since my first day here, you are the first thing I see, the first thing I hear and smell every *morning*. You make my mornings bright, and I want to wake up every morning with you beside me... I want you with me for the rest of my mornings..." Inuyasha replied, slight agitation in his eyes. He didn't want to be rejected; he didn't even know why he had revealed himself that way. He stared into her eyes more intently, desperately finding the strength to keep speaking within her expressive blue/gray orbs.  
  
"Besides, I would have shouted your name no matter what word you had said, because everything on earth reminds me of you," Inuyasha said. "I see you in everything, I smell you in every flower... You give me strength. The will to live. You give my life meaning," he hesitated before, "Kagome... I love you."  
  
She remained silent. Inuyasha nearly died in nervousness, but thankfully, she finally said, "Truth."  
  
Inuyasha took one of her hands in his left hand while he let his right hold her cheek.  
  
"I told you how I feel... And I'm scared, Kagome. I have never felt this way before and... I just want to know... will you accept me? I... Do you even like me?" he asked.  
  
Kagome looked at him through teary eyes. He lifted a hand to wipe the lone tear that had fallen down her cheek. "I like you a LOT more than you think, Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha brushed her wet bangs from her eyes. The downpour raged on, but neither paid any heed. They didn't even care that this was the first time, since Inuyasha's arrival, that rain came to Crystallia. "Dare."  
  
Kagome smiled softly. "Inuyasha... I dare you to kiss me."  
  
Inuyasha nearly fainted with relief when Kagome said that. He happily complied, wrapping his arms around Kagome's waist as he leaned down and touched her lips with his.  
  
Kagome slowly closed her eyes, delighting in the feel of his lips on hers. She put her arms on his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck as she eagerly kissed him. She could feel him twist his fingers around the long strands of her obsidian hair as his mouth moved passionately, almost possessively, over her own.  
  
Both wanted the moment to go on forever, but alas, humans need oxygen. They pulled away hesitantly, breathless and gasping for air. Kagome pulled him tighter to herself and Inuyasha did the same, tucking her head under his chin.  
  
"Truth," Kagome said.  
  
"Do you love me? Will you be mine?"  
  
Kagome smiled again, blushing darkly, before replying. "Yes, Inuyasha. I love you... and I'll be yours for as long as you'll be mine."  
  
"Then you'll be mine for a VERY long time, because I'm yours for eternity, koi."  
  
"Good," she replied. They stood there, as if entranced, not caring about the rain, the quest, anything.  
  
Kagome knew that it would never work out, not with her being the princess and everything, but she had promised herself that she would be a normal girl for as long as she could. She would love Inuyasha and cherish every moment with him.  
  
Inuyasha knew that he would leave in time, but he would do everything he could to stay with Kagome. Without her, his life was useless, and he would give up everything for her. He would find a way to take her back to his world. This relationship would work out. It had to.  
  
He looked up at the stormy skies and let the rain fall gently on his face. "Kagome," he whispered. "Let's find shelter. It's raining."  
  
"Ok," she replied, pulling away from him. She let him hold her hand as they walked, looking for anything that could serve as a roof.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Do you realize that this is the first time in weeks that it rained in Crystallia?" she asked softly.  
  
He paused. "I didn't notice," he said thoughtfully. "But that's good, right?"  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Rain symbolizes providence," he stated, starting to walk again, smiling as he spotted yet another cave. "It means that the gods are happy for us."  
  
Kagome smiled. "That's nice," she replied as she followed him to the cave.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Sango-sama! Sango look! It's raining!" Miroku shouted in excitement as he watched the water splash merrily on the ground. He was standing near the doors that led out to the palace garden.  
  
Sango ran up at the sound of Miroku's gleefully loud voice. She gasped in joy once she set eyes upon the wet grounds outdoors.  
  
"It IS raining!" she exclaimed. "For the first time since the princess was abducted, it's raining! Oh, houshi-sama! Does this mean...?"  
  
"I am not sure, Sango-sama, but it is either the princess is somehow regaining her powers, or something has made her very happy. It definitely means that Inuyasha is a lot nearer to the tower," Miroku replied.  
  
"That's wonderful! He was furious at me yesterday, and I would feel horrible if anything were to happen to his world. Inuyasha's world is very interesting," Sango said with a small frown.  
  
"I think he has forgiven you already, Sango-sama," Miroku placated her.  
  
"Usutsuki."  
  
"It's true! Didn't you see how his face sort of softened before he closed the amulet? He calmed down a bit after you told him that the glitch would have been worse without you," Miroku said defensively.  
  
Sango was not convinced. "Yes, I can see it now. He nearly bites my head off, then forgives me. That sounds very proper."  
  
"But seriously, Sango-sama. He knows that his quest would be much harder if it weren't for you,' he says, before he mutters, "Heck, my life would be much harder without you."  
  
But of course, Sango heard this. "Actually houshi-sama, life would be hard without you too."  
  
Miroku looked up, blushing, and Sango elaborated. "We both need each other's skills in this palace. We work together all the time."  
  
Miroku slowly walked up to her then, staring into her eyes. Sango knew that she should look away, but for some reason, she just couldn't. He stopped when he was nearly mere inches in front of her.  
  
"That was not what I meant, Sango," he said softly. Sango gasped at the intensity of his stare, and the fact that he had called her by her name.  
  
'It's the rain,' she thought to herself. 'The rain is affecting us both,' she mentally chanted in her nervous shock.  
  
"Well then, what did you mean, Miroku-sama?"  
  
Miroku then leaned closer, their noses nearly touching. "I meant, I could never live without you, Sango."  
  
Sango sucked in a breath as she belatedly realized how close they now were. Miroku was practically within groping range, but his hands seemed to be behaving for once.  
  
"I... that's nice..." she said dumbly. "I..."  
  
"Call me by my name, Sango. Onegai... I want to hear it from you," he suddenly pleaded. "I want you to call me by my name just this once," he added, before he leaned down and softly touched her lips with his own.  
  
Sango was shocked, but he pulled away before she could even think to respond. The kiss lasted only a second, but it felt like an eternity to the stunned couple.  
  
"Miroku," she breathed, unconsciously complying with his soft request.  
  
Miroku smiled his ususal heart-melting smile. "Arigatou, Sango."  
  
He slowly left her side, and Sango had the sudden urge to pull him back to herself and REALLY kiss him. She fought that overwhelming urge though, and watched as he left her personal space.  
  
"The rain is full of blessings, ne?" he suddenly said, jarring Sango from her thoughts. "I suppose something wonderful has happened to Inuyasha as well."  
  
"As well?"  
  
He nodded. "Something wonderful has happened to me..." he trailed off with a light blush. "I kissed you..."  
  
Sango blushed. "Hai, you did. Demo... why?"  
  
"Let's just say that it is something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time."  
  
Sango blanched. 'Well, that was frank,' she thought.  
  
"And Sango, the barrier is almost open. We would be able to pass through in two or three days," Miroku added before he turned and left.  
  
Sango smiled as he walked away. "Arigatou, Miroku."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: So, has anybody run out of toothpaste yet? LOL! I think I got too carried away with the fluff... oh well. I just decided to get the confessions done with, because all of this will be important in the story, and what better time to write it than when I'm in a fluffy mood! Anyway, it would have been inappropriate to write these scenes sooner anyway, and I got a few requests for more fluff. ^_^  
  
Anyway, THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all those who reviewed. You guys make me feel all fuzzy inside!  
  
Responses:  
  
LilNezumi_LilInu: I'm glad you like my story. Here's the update! ^_^  
  
Hanamaru285: I'm glad you think my fic is "kewl". LOL! Would you like me put in more cliffies, then? ^_^ I'll try!  
  
Litwolf689: *Hugs back* You're welcome! It's nothing, really! You'll use it for the Wild Magic sequel? I am sooo honored! I think Wild Magic is a very good fic. When are you gonna update, btw? I can't wait to read the rest! A sequel to 7Weeks? I dunno... I plan to end it all in a long epilogue. ^_^ Actually, I am writing two stories at present: this one and a lemon fic called "Feverish". The lemon is not on ff.net, it's on mediaminer.org and adultfanfiction.net. I use the same penname. Sure, I'll tell you when the lemon will be up! I'll say it in my usual A/N. Ja!  
  
Sparkling-Aura: Yup! There's a lemon! Demo, gomen, coz I don't have an alert list. I'll just email you when I update, ok? I'm glad you like my fic. You're of Filipino descent? Kewl! So, where do you live? Don't worry, tagalog is not that hard to learn.  
  
BlazinRuby: Nice name! Anyway, I'm glad you like my last chap! ^_^  
  
Crystalshower: I'm glad you like it! Anyway, about Shippou, I dunno if I would put him here. I was thinking that Shippou might be a bit out of place in this fic, gomen. I'll try to have him here if you want him to appear, but probably just a small role.  
  
The_EVIL_chibi: Aaah! Don't eat me! I've updated, see? I'm glad you like my fic. You'll add me to your favorites?! THANKS!  
  
Water phoenix 1: 350 episodes? Man, that's a lot! Thanks for answering my question! *glomps*  
  
TheWraith: Oh, it was a lot of help! Arigatou! *bows* Yeah, he'll be leaving a bit sooner than expected. I already have an idea on how to make Sango and Miroku react to seeing Kag, but if you have suggestions, I'll be glad to hear em! And yup, your calculations are correct! Btw, your mind comes up with great ideas, I'll bet you can write a lot better then most if you try! I'm glad you like my ficcy!  
  
KrysTheAngel: I'm glad you liked my last chappy. Episode 119? Oh, cool. I hope I get to see the later episodes too. I've been scouting all over the Philippines for the next episodes, but I just can't find any copies! I'll check fgf.org out right now, thanks for telling me about it! Thanks for the blessing on my exams too. Exams... *shudders* I hope this chap was fluffy enough for you. ^_^  
  
RavenShadow: I'm glad you liked my chap! Yeah, I actually felt bad for Sango as I was typing this... I know, I'm weird, feeling bad for stuff that *I* wrote.  
  
Bookwrm 13: I'm glad you think my fic is creative. ^_^ You own so many episodes! I only own 1-106. And my favorite episode, the one with the peach man, just HAD to have a glitch. Darn.  
  
Justmeh: I'm glad you like it! 3 minutes? Waah! Run!  
  
Hyperchica11: I think I misspelled your name last time... Hehe... gomen. But anyway, I saved them! I can't have my beloved dogboy die now, can I? LOL!  
  
There! Another long a/n after another long chapter. Haha! Well, please tell me what you think! Ja matta ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	18. Love and Hatred

A/N: Hi! I'm very proud of myself... I posted this chap, what, three days after I posted the last one? Haha... I'm getting faster at this... Or maybe I just want to get to the lemon part/parts REALLY fast!? LOL!  
  
As usual, domo arigatou gozaimasu to all those who reviewed my previous chaps. My fic would not be here without you!  
  
And before I forget, there's a tiny, limish part in this chap. Nothing serious, not even enough to be R, but if you have a REALLY big aversion to non-lip kissing, watch out for that little part. It's a tiny flashback thingy and I'll put a *---* before and after it.  
  
So, on with the ficcy! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Go figure, dude.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Love and Hatred  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Hiraikotsu!"  
  
The shout echoed repeatedly within the palace garden, taking down a myriad of dead trees as it swooped dangerously close to the ground.  
  
Sango stood in the middle of the garden, her hands ready to catch her weapon once it swung back her way. She tensed and straightened slightly as the weapon drew close and she reached up one hand, effortlessly catching her large boomerang.  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" she yelled as she threw it again, taking down another set of trees and the tops of a few large boulders. She caught it again and was preparing to swing again when another shout resounded in the grounds.  
  
"Kazaana!" she heard Miroku's voice say loudly, and she stilled when she saw that he had used his wind tunnel to effectively throw a large boulder at her.  
  
'Moving target eh?' she thought as she released hiraikotsu again with a loud yell.  
  
The hiraikotsu cleanly cut through the middle of the rock, sending both halves of it flying to opposite sides of Sango. She grinned madly as she caught her weapon yet again, turning to regard the monk who stood near the palace entrance, watching her amusedly.  
  
"Arigatou, houshi. I needed that," she said, giving him a small smile.  
  
"Think nothing of it, Sango. By the way, have I ever told you how extremely good you are with your weapon of choice?" he asked playfully.  
  
"I believe you have," she said with a silvery laugh.  
  
Miroku looked at her with smiling eyes as he asked, "Excited?"  
  
Sango practically screamed. "Oh, YES! I can hardly believe that we would be leaving the palace tomorrow!"  
  
"Well, believe it then! In about a week or so, we would be walking alongside Inuyasha on his quest," he replied with a curt laugh. "Kirara is very fast, and we know the path to take because of his little reports. We would catch up quickly."  
  
"We had better! Inuyasha only has fifteen remaining days here!" Sango exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, I know. We will help him defeat Naraku, and take Azalea-sama back."  
  
Sango grinned widely at that. "Oh, I can't wait to see Kagome-chan again!"  
  
"Kagome-chan?" Miroku inquired.  
  
Sango stiffened at that. She had just let something slip, something that only she and the princess knew of. But there was no turning back now. "Azalea's real name... the one that her parents had given her, is Kagome. She had asked me to call her that from the very beginning, but it was only between the two of us."  
  
Miroku stared at her questioningly. "Sango, you DO know that THAT is not allowed?"  
  
"I do," she insisted. "Demo, hime-chan had wanted to retain a piece of her past with her, even though it is not proper. I remember one time - do you remember that time when I had to leave the palace for Western Crystallia? I had called her 'Kagome' too loudly, and she had panicked!"  
  
"Have you been calling her by her true name for all this time?"  
  
Sango hesitated, but nodded. After all, surely Miroku wouldn't tell on her!  
  
"It's alright... but once we get her back... refrain from doing so, ne, Sango?"  
  
"Alright. Now, you have seen me using Hiraikotsu. Do you think you could show me how you use your Kazaana?" Sango asked.  
  
"Why of course, Sango!" Miroku said enthusiastically, before taking his prayer beads off his hand. He effortlessly sucked in the ruins of Sango's hiraikotsu.  
  
"Well," Sango commented. "I think we are about ready to leave the palace, ne?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha yawned widely and stretched his arms above his head. He tilted his head to one side then another, intending to take the kinks out of his neck muscles. As he moved around however, his gaze fell upon the sleeping form of Kagome, who slept mere feet away from him.  
  
"Kagome," he murmured softly, watching her shift on her sleeping mat.  
  
Two days ago, he had confessed his love for her, and she had confessed hers for him. The morning after that, Inuyasha had once again woken up to the wonderful smell of cooking breakfast. Kagome had smiled at him sweetly, saying that she had made something extra special for their "12th hour- sary."  
  
That day had been filled with laughter, hugs and kisses, and Inuyasha noted that he had laughed more over the past two days than he ever had in his whole life. They had traveled with their usual bickering and share of complaints, of course, but they had held hands all the time, and everything seemed considerably brighter to the hanyou. His relief at having Kagome with him made him almost forget that his world was in peril. Almost.  
  
But what he couldn't forget what what happened the night before. They had been bickering harmlessly as usual, and Inuyasha had pinned her down onto the mat when he felt he was losing the argument.  
  
*---* -Flashback- *---*  
  
"Are too."  
  
"Am not!" Kagome shouted, a blush coating her delicate cheeks.  
  
"You are sooo afraid of the dark, Kagome. Just admit it!"  
  
"Haven't we already had this argument before?"  
  
"Yup. And you didn' t prove me wrong then."  
  
"Well I'm telling you now, Inu-chan. I am not afraid of the dark."  
  
"Oh, come on. I still remember that day... haha! That was the day I admitted to trusting you, ne, Kago-chan?" Inuyasha suddenly said with a small grin.  
  
That gave Kagome pause. She looked down at her hands that were pressed against the sleeping mat she was sitting on. "Well... hai... I guess... eek!" she exclaimed as she looked up and saw Inuyasha practically above her.  
  
Inuyasha laughed as he pounced on her, pinning her to the mat. She giggled and gave him a mock glare, as he held her hands above her head.  
  
"Gotcha," he whispered softly against her cheek, his warm breath tickling her face and lips. "You get mad pretty easily. Did you know that?"  
  
"Hmmph," she replied. "Look who's talking."  
  
"Yeah, but you actually look beautiful when you're mad. I'd bet you can't say the same thing about me," he snickered.  
  
Kagome gave him a wicked grin and leaned up, brushing her lips against his as she spoke. "That's where you're wrong, Inuyasha," she said, before fully capturing his lips with her own.  
  
Inuyasha eagerly responded, parting her lips with his tongue as he deepened the kiss. He let his tongue trace the roof of her mouth, absently letting her hands go free as he moved his own to grasp her sides. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he nearly swooned on the spot when he realized that Kagome was unconsciously giving off a very enticing scent... she was aroused, and that was turning him on.  
  
He knew he had to stop soon if he didn't want to lose control, but as usual, his bull-headedness persisted. He was barely aware that he had now left her lips to trail small, seductive kisses along the line of Kagome's neck. The girl arched back, bringing her throat closer to his exploring lips. Moaning his name, Kagome allowed her fingers to tangle in his silver tresses, pulling his head closer to her.  
  
He began to nuzzle the hollow of her throat, only to kiss his way back up to her ear. He could sense her pulse beating wildly against her neck, and he sucked lightly on that pulse, grinning as he earned a gasp from Kagome for his attentions. He could practically hear his heated blood rush thorugh her veins, and he felt his heart pound madly against his ribcage.  
  
He rained more kisses along the neckline of her clothing. He pressed open mouthed kisses along her jawbone before reaching lower and nibbling lightly on her exposed collarbone. His hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they stealthily creeped up, under the hem of her tight shirt, and he splayed his fingers across the smooth, warm skin of her abdomen.  
  
His eyes abruptly popped open when he realized where the two of them were now heading. He pulled back and stared into hazy gray/blue eyes, shaking his head to clear it. His breathing had gone harsh and ragged. Hers were no longer controlled.  
  
"Inuyasha..." Kagome softly muttered, staring at him through her long lashes.  
  
He smiled at her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Gomen, Kagome. I lost control. I know you're not ready for that and... I love you and I admit... I want you. But I don't want to do anything you wouldn't want me to do."  
  
Kagome smiled softly at him. "Daijobu, Inuyasha. It's ok. I love you too... and in time, I'll be ready to show you just how much I do."  
  
*---* -End Flashback- *---*  
  
Yup... he could *definitely* get used to that happening every night.  
  
He crawled over to her, his stealth putting a ninja's to shame. He leaned over her to take a whiff of her wonderful scent, breathing in deeply as her hair tickled his nose.  
  
She turned slowly and regarded him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Ohayou."  
  
"Ohayou," he greeted back. "How was your sleep?"  
  
"Fine. You?"  
  
He shrugged. "Ok, I guess. Sorry, I haven't managed to cook breakfast yet. I just woke up."  
  
"It's ok. I'm up," she said, lifting herself from her mat. "Where's my bag?"  
  
"Right beside you," he replied, pointing to a spot a few feet from her.  
  
"Aha... there it is! So... I'll start cooking now, shall I? Inu, would you mind if I borrowed your flask again? I'll need water to cook," Kagome said.  
  
He fished around his robes and easily found his self-filling flask in its usual place. He tossed it at Kagome. He felt around his robes again as he absently searched around for his pouch of money and that other thing that Miroku had given him... an image of Azalea. He had only looked at that image once - the time when the houshi gave it to him - and he had never bothered since.  
  
He took his pouch out and continued looking for the picture. 'That's strange,' he thought. 'I put all my stuff in only one pocket...' he mulled in puzzlement as he began to feel around himself for the missing thing.  
  
Kagome noticed his unease. "Inu-chan, daijobu?"  
  
"Hai... I just... Kagome, have you ever noticed a small piece of paper in my robes? You know, whenever I let you have my haori..." Inuyasha asked.  
  
"A piece of paper, Inuyasha?"  
  
"Aa. I can't find it."  
  
"Well, I have never noticed anything of the sort... did you lose it? Maybe I could help. Is it important?" Kagome asked helpfully.  
  
"Well," Inuyasha began. "It's not really important but... Miroku gave it to me when I left the palace."  
  
"Well, what's written in it? Directions?"  
  
"No... It's an image of the princess. So I'd know it's her when I find her," Inuyasha replied. He noticed, however, the way Kagome seemed to stiffen at the mention of the image. "Oi... daijobu?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just... an image? Why would you need an image of the princess?" Kagome asked with a nervous smile. 'Shimatta... I kept the image... to keep him from finding out about me being the princess.'  
  
Inuyasha stilled his search and considered. "Yeah... why would I? YOU know how she looks, ne? You've seen her, so you'll know her when you see her. I don't need the dumb image."  
  
Kagome nodded halfheartedly. "Hai, I know her," she said. 'A lot better than you think.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura watched intently as the pair left the cave that they had spent their previous night in. She had planned to sneak in during the night, but the Tetsusaiga's barrier had prevented her from doing so. Perhaps... now she could do what Naraku had ordered. She would only need the 'help' of a certain ookami youkai...  
  
-----/---@  
  
"But master Kouga..."  
  
"No buts! Who's the prince around here?!"  
  
"You are, Kouga-sama."  
  
"Then do as I say!"  
  
"Yes, Kouga-sama."  
  
Kouga looked around his camp in annoyance. They dreadfully lacked females in their tribe, and they especially lacked cubs...  
  
'I need to find my woman fast... I need an heir badly. We're gonna die out if I don't find my Kagome,' he thought, seething. He had taken her from her stupid dog companion. She had even warmed up to him already! And then she just... suddenly disappeared. He left her for a few moments and when he came back, she was gone.  
  
The strange thing was that he didn't smell any other scent in the cave where he had kept her except for hers, his tribesmen and his. Then, as he ran off outside the cave in search for her, he came across the scent of the dog turd, and another strange stench that mingled greatly with the scent of his Kagome.  
  
"Where the hell is my Kagome?!" he suddenly shouted, making all heads turn in his direction.  
  
"Wouldn't you want to know?"  
  
The voice that answered his stormy question came out of nowhere, and all heads turned towards the entrance of their den. The shock was that nobody even stood there.  
  
Kouga stood up, fists at the ready. "Who the fuck are you and what do you know about my woman? Show yourself!" Kouga shouted in anger.  
  
"As you wish, ookami-sama," the disembodied voice said in a tone laced with sarcasm. "Here I am," the voice took form slowly, and from a soft mist, emerged the form of Kagura.  
  
Kouga tried to sniff at the woman and paused. 'She smells familiar,' he thought, glaring at Kagura.  
  
"Teme... How dare you step into my den without my permission," he snarled, and all the other wolves were now growling at the intruder.  
  
"You ingrate. I have come here with information about your abducted potential mate," she said with the tiniest of smiles.  
  
"My potential... Kagome! You know where she is!?" Kouga asked, about a second before he recognized the scent. "Oi... you carry the scent that I found in the cave when Kagome disappeared!"  
  
"So I do," she replied. "That was because I was there when Inuyasha took your Kagome from the cave."  
  
"NANI?!"  
  
"You heard me. Kagome went out the cave looking for you, when he swooped down and nabbed her. I was there because I was after Inuyasha."  
  
Kouga bristled at what he heard. "That mangy mutt took my woman?"  
  
"Yes," Kagura said. "She couldn't fight him off even if she wanted to, of course. He is much stronger than her."  
  
Kouga was seething. "Where are they? Do you know?"  
  
Kagura hid a smirk behind her wide fan. "I thought you would never ask."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha suddenly paused and sniffed the air around him. A familiar scent was fast approaching, and he couldn't quite put his finger on who that scent belonged to.  
  
'Hmm... it's not Naraku. And it's not those two kids. Now who...' his eyes widened as he finally recognized the scent.  
  
"Kouga!" he exclaimed, turning to find a small blue hurricane approaching him and Kagome.  
  
Kagome turned abruptly at his exclamation. "Nani?"  
  
"Kouga's here!" he said more clearly, pulling Kagome towards him. He let out an audible growl as Kouga's scent bacem more prominent in the air. He noticed something else too... Kouga's scent was mixed with jealous fury.  
  
Kagome clutched his arm as Kouga fully came into view.  
  
Inuyasha had been right - Kouga looked just about ready to kill. He growled loudly and clenched his fists tightly at the sight of Kagome holding on to Inuyasha like he were her last lifeline.  
  
"Inu-kuro... let go of my woman you bastard!" he shouted, taking a menacing step forward. Inuyahsa, however, looked nonplussed.  
  
"YOUR woman? I think not," Inuyasha remarked with a slightly smug smirk. "She belongs to no one, and if she does, she most definitely does not belong to you! She's my woman if no one else's."  
  
Kagome blushed wildly at his remark, but decided to ignore it for now. She held on to Inuyasha's haori more fully at Kouga's outraged snarl.  
  
"Teme... you asshole!" Kouga shouted at Inuyasha. "I know what you did to her, Inuyasha! You took my woman away from me and made her yours! You are not just a dog turd, you are a sorcerer!"  
  
'A sorcerer?' Inuyasha and Kagome thought at the same time. Both had confused expressions on their faces as they turned to look at each other questioningly.  
  
"Oi," Inuyasha said, moving a bit out of Kagome's grasp. He gripped the hilt of Tetsusaiga in his right hand, prepared to use it if need be. "What the hell are you talking about, wolf?"  
  
Kouga seethed. "You know damn well what I am talking about, you bastard!"  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"Shut up and get ready to die, yuuwakusha!" Kouga screamed in blind fury as he lunged at Inuyasha suddenly. Inuyasha barely avoided the move.  
  
"Just what the fuck are you talking about, you wimpy wolf?!" Inuyasha snarled questioningly as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga and lunged at his opponent. But Kouga was very fast, and he ended up slicing another dead tree.  
  
"Just shut the hell up and die!" Kouga responded yet again.  
  
Kagome stood, confused, a few meters away from the two snarling canine youkai. 'Sorcerer?' she asked herself yet again. What Kouga had said was quite weird, and she had a hunch that someone had somehow gotten to the ookami prince.  
  
She turned as she heard Inuyasha shout of pain and anger. She gasped at the realization that as her attention was turned, Kouga had somehow managed to strike Inuyasha's left arm with his claws.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she shouted in worry, and Inuyasha was too busy dodging attacks to even spare a glance at her. Kouga was fast, they all knew it, and the wolf was using that to his full advantage.  
  
Inuyasha, however, was puzzled. He had been trying to use the Kazeno Kizu since before he got wounded, but somehow, the winds didn't seem to want to cooperate. He could not find enough youki to base the Kaze no Kizu on, and the winds weren't even blowing.  
  
He was frustrated, and since he couldn't use his wind attack, he turned to his last resort - his claws.  
  
"Sankontessou!" he attacked kouga headlong, and thankfully managed to scrape the wolf youkai's cheek.  
  
Kouga snarled some more and attacked more ferociously, all the while shouting at Inuyasha's being a sorcerer.  
  
Kouga swung his left hand at Inuyasha, who was too distracted sniffing the air. He got a full blow on his chest, leaving four deep gashes. He stumbled back a bit, and kouga took advantage of his loss of balance, landing Inuyasha a punch in the jaw.  
  
Inuyasha half-heartedly fought back, faintly recognizing another scent in the air. He stilled as he realized the scent. He leapt away from Kouga at the realization of who the other scent belonged to, and he instantly jumped for Kagome.  
  
"Kagura!" he shouted in Kagome's direction, just as he saw the kimono-clad woman swoop down on her usual white feather and grab Kagome from behind.  
  
"Ack! Let me go!" Kagome cried as Kagura pulled her up onto her feather. She tried to pry herself free from Kagura's grasp, but before she managed, she was already too high up in the sky to attempt to jump. "Inuyasha!"  
  
"Kagome!" he called back, just as he heard Kouga shout.  
  
"Kagura! Where are you taking my Kagome?" the stupid wolf asked, and Kagura simply ignored them both.  
  
Inuyasha lost no time in charging after the swiftly flying demoness, who had taken HIS woman! He faintly realized that he was running alongside Kouga, both of them shouting obscenities at Kagura.  
  
Had he not been running in blind panic since Kagome had been abducted, he would have marveled at the fact that he was now running just as quickly, if not even faster, than Kouga. (A/N: Adrenaline is quite remarkable, ne?)  
  
Kagome looked down and saw Inuyasha bounding along with Kouga after her. She called out to him and leaned over the feather, deciding on whether or not she should take a risk and just jump off, but Kagura had read her well. A painful, deathlike grip suddenly seized her body, pinning her arms to her sides and knocing the air out of her, preventing her from calling out to the hanyou once more.  
  
She looked around and over at Kagura, wondering what had suddenly held her back. Kagura simply sat on one edge of the feather, smirking at her, holding her fan out.  
  
"I have used a binding spell on you. I usually use that grip to control corpses, but just for you, Azalea, I'll make a exception," Kagura answered her unasked question.  
  
Kagome glared as hard as she could at Kagura. The vise-like grip was cutting of her circulatin, and soon enough, Kagome realized that she could no longer feel her arms.  
  
"Kagome!" she heard Inuyasha call out to her as the lack of oxygen began to take a toll on her senses. Her stomach was bound by the unseen force very tightly, and she could barely gasp out. She couldn't breathe, and the world seemed to spin around her as she desperately tried to focus on Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha was desperately trying to reach her, and he leapt up, only to come a few meters short of her. Kagura had flown up well above his jumping reach, and the hanyou snarled as his feet unsuccessfully grazed the ground again.  
  
He kept shouting her name, and a few moments ago, she was also shouting back. But now, it seemed as if Kagome's eyes had started to take on a glazed, pained look, and her chest was heaving, as if she was trying to unsuccessfully suck in air.  
  
Kagome was struggling to keep her eyes open, but the lack of oxygen made it quite a struggle. She was going dizzy, and she realized that she would pass out if the bonds were not loosened. Kagura seemd to have no such intention, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she lost consciousness.  
  
"Kagome!!!" Kouga and Inuyasha shouted at the same time as they saw Kagome teeter and nearly fall, had Kagura not been holding her somehow.  
  
Inuyasha made larger bounds acroos the field in his haste to get to Kagome. He had to save her! He was totally blown away, however, when he ralized that Kagura was headed for a place that lay beyond a large, deep ravine. He couldn't very well jump over the huge land crack without cracking his own bones. The gap in the ground was large, the space between the two edges of the canyon about twenty meters apart. He paused in his steady run, thinking about how to get to Kagome, who was noe on the other side with Kagura flying swiftly away from them.  
  
"KAGOME!!!" Kouga shouted as the two feather-floaters disappeared from their viewpoint. "This is all your fault, sorcerer!" he yelled at Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha seethed and stilled himself, backing up a few feet to attempt jumping over the canyon. He had to get to his love, fast. He didn't know where Kagura was taking her, but he had a very good hunch.  
  
He tensed as he mentally calculated the jump. 'I could do this,' he thought to himself as he ran bravely towards the gap in the ground, bracing himself for the impact.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome slowly opened her eyes as she felt air fill her lungs once again. She coughed and sputtered and took a long gulp of air, which, she noticed was rather stale. She looked up for the first time, and noticed that she was no longer flying high up off the ground on Kagura's feather.  
  
She squinted again as she felt a vague pounding on her head. Yup... suffocation nearly did the trick. She nearly died and did not wish to have to repeat that experience.  
  
She put a hand to her head as she slowly sat up, wincing. She realized that she was in some sort of strange cave and she had no idea WHERE on crystallia that cave was.  
  
'Inuyasha!' her mind screamed, wanting to know how he was. Inuyasha IS her boyfriend... she had every right to worry about him. She vagueky wondered why he hadn't come to save her yet.  
  
She let her aura search him out, and stiffened when she felt another familiar aura near her. It was not Inuyasha... quite the contrary... that aura belonged to the person that she wanted to have nothing to do with.  
  
"I took you long enough to realize that you are not alone," the person's voice remarked in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Have your powers begun to wane already? I'm disappointed."  
  
Kagome turned slowly, reluctantly, dreading the scene that awaited her eyes. But she would not show weakness. She turned fully and regarded the vile person that sat but a few feet from her, giving off the thickest cloud of dark youki around himself.  
  
The man had long, greasy black hair and narrow scarlet eyes. He wore a long robe of black and he was staring at Kagome intensely, making her shiver in dread. Kagome nearly gasped as she realized that in his hand, he held none other than the Shikon no Tama.  
  
He smirked widely as Kagome's eyes narrowed in fury. "What do you want with me, you bastard? Where am I and where is Inuyasha?!"  
  
"Ku ku ku... such language. You have sure changed a lot over such a short time," he paused. "Azalea."  
  
Kagome's eyes popped open. She shouldn't have been surprised - after all, he already held the Shikon no Tama, which means that he had discovered her absence already. But it still surprised her.  
  
"I have got to hand it to you, Azalea. You had me fooled for a long time... you led me into thinking that you were still in the dome. But now I know," he said with a frown.  
  
"I don't want to hear your voice, Naraku," she hissed angrily. "I want to see Inuyasha!"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that, my beloved princess," he stated plainly. "Because now that I have you back, I do not intend to let yo go. I'll be keeping a better eye on you from now on, my Lady Azalea."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Another chapter done! Yahoo! I am soooo excited! I'm gonna be getting to the more exciting parts soon. You know... the part where Inu finds out who Kag really is... the part where Miroku and Sango catch up... and don't forget, Inuyasha still has one more human night in this fic! And then there's the ending! I have a great idea for the next chaps.  
  
To those who asked, I THINK I have more or less ten chaps to go before I end this fic. But then again, I'm not quite sure! Not even the local psychiatrist can tell what goes on in my head, lol!  
  
One more chapter and I'll be getting to that lemon part. Wahaha! And oh yeah...  
  
Responses:  
  
Niku: I'm glad you like my ficcy. You're Hispanic? Cool! I'm part Japanese. ^_^ I've only seen up to the 106th episode, so far, and the download for the movie is sooo worth it! Thanks for the review!  
  
BlazinRuby: *Blushes* I'm glad you think I'm a good writer. You never fail to flatter me! Thank you so much!  
  
Litwolf689: Thanks! I'm glad you like my work. You'll update soon? COOL! I can't wait. And to tell you honestly, I have the same problem... I have the later parts of the fic all planned, but now I don't know what to put in between! I'm almost over that stage though (thank the gods), because I'm actually nearing the end of the fic.  
  
RavenShadow: I'm glad you liked my last chap. I was very nervous about it when I posted it... I thought people might think it's cheesy or something! Arigatou! ^_^  
  
Hyperchica11: I'm glad you think it's cute. ARIGATOU!  
  
Lilacks: YEAH!!! Me love fluff too!  
  
Justmeh: Yeah... took them long enough, ne? Don't worry, Inu will find out sooner or later! But I promise a good scene with that, so please keep an eye out for that part. I'm glad you like my fic!  
  
Soli-chan: I'm glad you like my fic. About Miroku and Sango... let's just say that I don't think it's fair if Inu and Kag have a scene and they don't. I love Miroku and Sango - almost as much as I love Inu and Kag.  
  
Blubber: Yeah! Die, Kikyo! DIE!!!!  
  
Hanamaru285: What a way to welcome you home from vacation, ne? Cliffies - you gotta love 'em. Gomen for that... I can't help it! LOL!  
  
SO, THERE! Thank you so much, to all those who read and reviewed my previous chaps. *goes teary-eyed* You guys are my LIFE!  
  
I hope you all don't mind that I slightly altered Kagura's spell of control over corpses. I just couldn't think of anything else at the time!  
  
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chap! Please tell me what you think! It only takes a TINY bit of time, and the smallest comments are enough to make my day. If my day is good, my brain works faster, I type faster, so reviews = faster updates.  
  
Thanks again to all of you people! Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	19. Rage and Reunions

A/N: *Reads the last chapter over* OMG! Just look at all these errors! I can barely count the number of spelling errors in this chap! UGH! But ladies and gentlemen, I have an alibi... No really, this is valid. For some reason, the stupid spell-checker on my PC wouldn't work. And I heavily depend on my spell-checker, because I am the official leader of the careless typists' club. I don't really suck at spelling... I am just dog gone careless. It's just that I think a bit faster than I type. I'm only up to, what, 45 words per minute? Gaaah!  
  
Anyway, gomen for the mistakes. I really ought to have my PC upgraded. Ooooh... I've been DYING to get my claws on an XP. Maybe I'll ask my dad to get me a new computer for my 18th birthday! Maybe a good laptop... Dream on, Scarlet!  
  
Anyway, to those who asked, yes, this will be the last chap before the lemon. According to my PC files, this chap is chapter19. The lemon would be chapter20. I'll be posting the citrus on mm.org and aff.net. The non-lemon version of chapter20 will be posted on ff.net. No lemon in this chap. I'll be posting the chaps in 2 or 3 days at best. My professors have once again deicded to lay hell on my shoulders, and I've got too much to do. Gomen ne.  
  
I know, enough with the dumb author's note. On with the show!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't like it, but what can I do?  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Rage and Reunions  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Son of a bitch!!!" Inuyasha yelled in panic as he realized that he was a few inches short of the ledge. He was gonna fall, and looking down, decided that whatever would happen once he fell would NOT be pretty.  
  
He tried to scrabble with his hands, and soon found himself holding narrowly onto the edge of the ledge. Only three of the fingers on his right hand managed to take a nearly futile grasp of the earth.  
  
"Shit... SHIT!" he yelled yet again, kicking about to find anything at all that he could step on to get up on the edge of the cliff. The sun was setting in the horizon, marking the end of another one of his days in Crystallia.  
  
'Fuck it! I am NOT gonna die! Kagome...'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kouga stared as he saw the hanyou take a few steps back. 'Is the idiot gonna try to jump the ledge?' he thought in wonder, and gasped loudly as Inuyasha ran for the side of the cliff. 'He IS gonna jump!'  
  
He saw Inuyasha take a large leap, only to unsuccessfully fall a couple of inches short, screaming obscenities all the way down.  
  
'The idiot...' he thinks as he takes off to see where Inuyasha was. He knew he would survive. The man was too bull-headed to die just like that. Besides, he was a sorcerer.  
  
'But he sure is determined to save Kagome. I'd have to thank him for his efforts to save my woman,' he told himself before he leapt off. He too, fell a few inches short, but with his speed, managed to maneuver himself into a horizontal position in the air, bracing his feet against the rock and running up the vertical earth.  
  
-----/---@  
  
'God dammit!' Inuyasha thought as he saw Kouga running up the cliff wall. 'He's gonna get to Kagome before me!'  
  
Just sh the wolf passed by him though, he shocked the pants of Inuyasha as he reached down and pulled him, by the arm, up the wall with him. It took a second before the information sunk into Inuyasha's shocked consciousness - the ookami had just saved his ass.  
  
He looked at Kouga in shock as the wolf prince let go of his arm as one would a piece of dung. Kouga was shaking his head to himself as if he barely believed that he had just saved his own opponent.  
  
"Oi," Inuyasha began. "Why'd you do that?"  
  
The wolf just looked at him impassively. "I couldn't let you die like that... you were supposed to die by MY hands," he responded and Inuyasha immediately gripped Tetsusaiga. "Besides, you were on your way to save MY woman, weren't you, sorcerer?"  
  
Inuyasha bristled at that, growling slightly as he cracked his knuckles. 'HIS woman? Why this fucking piece of... wait a sec.'  
  
"And just WHY the fuck do you keep on calling me a god damn sorcerer?" he demanded. "I don't even know any magic you asshole!"  
  
"You think you can fool me? I know your secret. That bitch told me so!"  
  
"Which bitch told you WHAT?"  
  
"About you being a sorcerer!"  
  
"I'm NOT a sorcerer!!!"  
  
Both canine youkai started growling at each other once again, trying their best to look more intimidating than the other. They just ended up looking really, really silly, but neither would ever admit that.  
  
"What the hell made you think that I am a fucking sorcerer, and WHO told you so?!" Inuyasha asked angrily.  
  
Kouga made a slightly annoyed face and answered. "Kagura told me. She said that you had hypnotized Kagome into going with you after she had fallen in love with me!"  
  
Inuyasha face-faulted. "NANI? And you believed her? What kind of idiot are you?!"  
  
"It makes a LOT of sense," Kouga said to himself, ignoring Inuyasha. "She had already cozied up to me... then I left for a while and she had disappeared..."  
  
"OI!" Inuyasha shouted in Kouga's face. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Kouga looked at him in irritation. "Sorcerer. She went outside the cave looking for me, and you took her. You made her stay with you! Kagura told me so!"  
  
Inuyasha gaped. 'This guy is dumber than I thought!' he thought incredulously. "And you believed that?"  
  
Kouga nodded vigorously. "Of course! Why would she have left me if it weren't true?"  
  
"And you STILL believe her after seeing that she just took Kagome from right under our fucking noses?!"  
  
Kouga thought that over. "You're right! You mean, she tricked me?!"  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner," Inuyasha said in a voice full of sarcasm.  
  
Kouga fumed. "That woman fooled me and took my Kagome! Just she wait... I am going to wring her neck!" he yelled as he sprinted off towards the direction where Kagura had disappeared to a few minutes ago. Inuyasha stared at him incredulously.  
  
Kouga suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oi, Inu-kuro! You coming?"  
  
Inuyasha shook his head in disbelief. 'Man, he's weird,' he thought before sprinting off in the same direction.  
  
'Just wait for me Kagome... I'm coming to get you,' he promised her mentally.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Naraku, you have already done enough damage. Just give it up, Naraku! I don't love you. And you know as well as I do that I can never love anyone... it just isn't allowed and you know it!" Kagome shouted in anger.  
  
Naraku shook his head, mocking her. "To go back to being princess, you will need this, ne?" he asked rhetorically, holding up the Shikon no Tama. He had strung the Shikon no Tama onto a long piece of golden string and tied it around his neck.  
  
Kagome said nothing. He was right, and she cringed mentally at that.  
  
"So your quest is to take this back. HIS is to take back the princess, and he doesn't even know that he has already accomplished it. Maybe I should inform him?" Naraku mocked her again.  
  
Her hair was standing on end in anger. "Don't you DARE, Naraku."  
  
"And what do you intend to do if I do? Kill me? Why, Azalea-hime..." Naraku laughed as she cut him off with a sharp retort.  
  
"Don't call me that! I am Kagome... I am not the princess, not so long as I do not bear the Shikon. That's what you want, isn't it? The Shikon? You have it now... why don't you leave me alone and just take the damn power for yourself?!" Kagome yelled shrilly in pure fury.  
  
"I'm sure you can figure out how to use it," Kagome wheezed, her voice hoarse from her furious outburst. "You figured out how to use the forbiodden power in the Garnet Tower. Using the Shikon would be easy enough for you."  
  
Kagome can barely think. Her anger was getting the best of her and she knew that she should be trying to take the Shikon no Tama from Naraku, not encouraging him to take it! But no... here she was, practically begging him to take the power just so she would be left alone with Inuyasha.  
  
She was selfish - she would rather not serve her land and leave with Inuyasha to his world... but she was only human! Her feelings were confused, warring with her desperate mind.  
  
Naraku suddenly stood reigid at what she said. He stepped down from the spot where he was sitting and bent down to take her chin in his hand.  
  
She furiously pulled her face away from his fingers. "Don't touch me," she said in a threateningly low voice.  
  
Naraku backed away slightly. He knew when his princess was mad. And right then, she was radiating fury. "My dear princess, don't you understand? I don't want the shikon... I became strong for YOU... because I knew that the princess could only be touched by one who is stronger than herself. I intended to share my powers with you, maybe even help you rule the land, but you refused me... so I had to take you away."  
  
Kagome was not touched. She just seethed even more. "And you thought that you could make me love you by abducting me and letting my land rot?! You are crazy, Naraku. I will never marry you. I never even gave you a second glance, and you know it."  
  
Naraku's eyes darkened. "I don't understand you... I was a dedicated warrior. All I wanted to do was please you..."  
  
"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" she yelled once again, ignoring the burning pain in her throat. "You have always been jealous of Souta... you wanted to be the head guard more than anything else. And you want to share control over Crystallia, admit it!"  
  
Naraku bowed his head, shaking it slightly. "I want you to be my wife... there is nothing else."  
  
Kagome would never believe his lies. He was an overly ambitious warrior. Before he suddenly disappeared from the palace, he seemed to have an obsessive need to lead... she noticed his lust-filled stares at her all the time, and he always irked her to no end... but he was her warrior. He wouldn't dare do anything improper.  
  
Kagome tensed as she noticed that he was approaching her once again. He was taking small steps towards her and she backed away with every forward step he took. She gasped when she saw him take off his haori.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?!" she asked in panic as he raised his usual lustful eyes to regard her.  
  
"If I take you now... that dog warrior wouldn't have any claim on you..."  
  
Kagome paled considerably at that. She backed away again, only to meet the hard wall of the cave. 'He's gonna... he's gonna rape me!' her mind screamed out in frantic fear.  
  
She screamed shrilly when he pressed her to the wall with his body. He licked his lips and grinned evilly whwen she cringed.  
  
"Naraku... stay away from me..." she said, anger and fear combining in her usually soft voice. She clenched her eyes in disgust when she felt his breath upon her face.  
  
"Bite me," he said softly, using his right hand to pull apart his inner robe. The Shikon no Tama glowed on his chest, and Kagome tried to gather her holy powers into her hand to blast him away. To her shock and displeasure, nothing happened.  
  
'The cave... the cave is spell-bound. It is blocking my powers!' she thought in panic as Naraku leaned even closer to her, holding her waist tightly in his right hand, chuckling slightly at the sight of her terror- stricken eyes.  
  
"Iya..." she said softly. "Naraku... onegai... don't do this!" she cried frantically as he licked the pulse on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was much too strong. A second later, she was shocked that he had somehow managed to pin her hands down between them.  
  
"And who's gonna stop me?" he said with a smirk.  
  
"Iya! Let me go!" she screamed again. 'No... I don't want him to be the first... no, I don't want him at all!'  
  
"Gods, help!" she cried, tears of anger and disgust for the man before her floeing down her cheeks as she felt his hands start to roam beneath her clothing, reaching the bandages that bound her breasts. "Get your filthy hands of me!"  
  
Naraku just chuckled cruelly.  
  
"IYA! Help me!" she screamed again as his fingers splayed on the material covering her chest. 'This can't be happening!'  
  
"INUYASHA!!!" she yelled, but her next shout for help was cut off when Naraku roughly pressed his lips against hers.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha was keeping up with Kouga. A BIG accomplishment for him.  
  
"Which way?" Kouga asked anxiously as they came to a narrow fork in the road. Inuyasha pleasantly found that he had a very good advantge over the wolf - he was a better tracker. His sense of smell, despite the fact that he was a hanyou, was stronger than the ookami's.  
  
Th place was full of strange tunnels that twisted this way and that, and it was driving the two canines crazy. Kouga was so intent on crushing Kagura for tricking him and making him look like a fool, and Inuyasha wanted nothing else but to take back his girlfriend.  
  
Inuyasha sniffed, and was about to point in one direction when he stopped. Kagome's scent wasn't just coming from one direction... it was coming from both!  
  
"Chikuso," he swore softly, sniffing again.  
  
"What?" the ever-patient ookami prince asked.  
  
"Kagome's scent... it's fucking everywhere!" he yelled.  
  
"NANI?!"  
  
Both youkai looked at each other for moment, before dashing to the ground on their hands and knees, noses touching the ground as they frantically sniffed aroud. They spent a few seconds going all over the floor before Kouga let out a discombobulated shout.  
  
"You're right. Her scent is all over the place! Where do we go?!" he shouted.  
  
Inuyasha stopped sniffing as he noticed a tiny piece of white bandage lying hidden on the floor of the left tunnel. He discreetly walked up to it and sniffed.  
  
'So this is where Kagome's scent is coming from!' he thought, enlightened. He noticed that the whole tunnel didn't smell of Kagome after all. 'The other tunnel, on the other hand... but wait! What if they are just setting this up?'  
  
"Kouga, we have split up," he said anxiously. "You take the left tunnel. I'll take the other one."  
  
Kouga seemed happy with that. They ran to opposite directions and Inuyasha was just about to go into the right tunnel when Kouga called.  
  
"What?" he called irritably, sticking his head out to regard the wolf.  
  
"Be careful, you ass."  
  
It was rude, but the warning surprised Inuyasha. Before he could catch himself he answered, "You too, shit-eater."  
  
Both youkais then ran off.  
  
Inuyasha's path was dark, and he could faintly smell another scent mixed-in with Kagome's. It was the scent that came off Kagura and the stupid bats that he had fought on his first day in Crystallia.  
  
Naraku.  
  
He sped his steps when the realization hit him... Naraku was in there with Kagome, and he hated to think that his Kagome was in danger.  
  
He thought he could distantly hear Kagome's voice and that spurred him faster. She was shouting something, but he could only make out two words - "Naraku... onegai...!"  
  
Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He ran faster, his feet pounding heavily on the stone floor. 'To hell with stealth!'  
  
The scent of arousal filled the air and he desperately ran to the direction of the combined scents of Kagome, Naraku and the scent of arousal.  
  
He sprinted off more desperately, and he sighted a strange light from somewhere ahead. The scent was much stronger now. He was near... he can feel it.  
  
He rounded a bend and was about to call to Kagome when a ghastly sight greeted him.  
  
His Kagome was kissing someone else... someone who smelled like Kagura.  
  
Kagome was kissing Naraku.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Sunset.  
  
It was something that Sango had rarely ever paid any heed, but right now, as she sat before the large window in her room, she found it absolutely breath-taking.  
  
For one, the colors in the sky were nothing short of stunning. All the colors of fire merged into one, creating a golden, almost ethereal scene in the sky.  
  
Secondly, the fall of night would end the day. The end of the day meant that she only had a few hours to wait for until she could finally leave the castle.  
  
"Kagome..." she murmured for perhaps the hundredth time that day. She sincerely missed her best friend.  
  
She heard soft footsteps coming from right outside her door. 'Miroku,' she concluded. She knew it was him... she always did. It almost seemed as if she had a special sixth sense that only felt him.  
  
She mentally ticked off what the houshi was doing outside her door. Three more steps and he would be standing right before her door. He would transfer his weight from foot to foot before finally deciding to just stand steadily on both legs.  
  
He would then do something to cause a little more shuffling - sometimes he just pulled at his sleeves. At other times he would take his staff in his right hand, only to pass it back to his left. Then he would raise his right handto her knocker. But he won't knock yet. He would hold the knocker for a while longer, then, almost hesitantly, he would knock on her door.  
  
She knew what he did by listening to him in her room as he stood by her door, and it was always the exact same thing, the exact same sequence. She giggled lightly at the confirmation of her prediction, but just for the sake of enjoyment, she went up to the door and opened it before he had the chance to knock.  
  
Oh, the look of surprise on his face was priceless! She tried to act surprised. "Why, Houshi-sama... what are you doing here?"  
  
Miroku stuttered and Sango had discretely to pinch her own behind to keep from laughing. He looked up and down, everywhere but her, then let his eyes settle on Sango again. Only, he wasn't looking at her face.  
  
*SLAP*  
  
"Hentai!" Sango barked after slapping him. He had conveniently decided to rest his eyes on her bosom. "I swear... your eyes and hands are wandering wonders."  
  
"Ah, gomen, Sango-sama! Haha!" he said laughingly as he rubbed his hand- printed cheek. "I just came here to bid you goodnight, actually."  
  
"And you expect me to believe that?"  
  
"Actually, no," he replied, scratching the back of his head in a bit of embarrassment.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So... what?"  
  
"So why did you come over?" Sango asked impatiently.  
  
Miroku grinned. "Kirara wants to see you. Actually, she wishes to show you something."  
  
Sango looked at him strangely. She had already spoken to Kirara about leaving the palace and the cat had agreed enthusiastically. "What is it?"  
  
"You'll see! Come on, she's in the garden."  
  
'The garden?' she thought in astonishment as the priest headed away from her room. Sango fell into step after him.  
  
She saw Kirara standing in her untransformed form in the middle of the garden. Her legs, that had practically been bandaged since Naraku had attacked, were now completely devoid of even the tiniest scratch.  
  
She was mewing softly, looking at her mistress expectantly. Snago ran up to her pet and smiled. "Oi, Kirara. You need to rest. We have a very long way to go, you know," she said as she leaned down and scratched behind Kirara's ears.  
  
Kirara lazily went around her legs and and stood securely beneath her feet. She leaned down questioningly, but had no time to voice her concerns as he cat suddenly transformed beneath her, efficiently taking her onto her back.  
  
Sango let out a small squeal of surprise as Kirara flew off, lifting off the ground as rapidly as lightning. She watched as the people on the ground seemed to become smaller as they rose steadily. Miroku waved at them, and Kirara took a sudden maneuver and headed for the monk.  
  
Kirara dipped low enough for the monk to reach. He reached up and held on to a large patch of her fur as she swooped down, and Sango laughingly helped him up onto the neko-youkai's back.  
  
Sango felt wonderful as they flew swiftly around the castle. "Kirara, Miroku! This is fun!" she shouted in glee.  
  
Miroku noticed that she had called him by his name, and grinned. "The best is yet to come, Sango!"  
  
Sango also noticed that he had been calling her by her first name more and more each day, but let it slide. Besides, she loved the way her name sounded from her beloved's lips.  
  
They were flying higher, and Sango realized that they were heade straight for the barrier that concealed tha palace. She began to panic and just as they were about to collide with the barrier, she shouted, "Kirara, watch out! We'll hit the... eh?"  
  
She blinked when they easily went through the place where the barrier should have been. She turned to the man who was sitting right behind her.  
  
"I told you the best was yet to come!" he answered her questioning gaze.  
  
The barrier was down! "Since when?" she shouted over the roar of the wind.  
  
Miroku grinned. "Since late this noon," he replied.  
  
They flew around a bit more until Sango felt like her pet had enough. Sango's cheeks wer flushed with exhilaration, and she was laughing as she slid off Kirara.  
  
"That was great, Kirara. Now go to sleep. We have a long way to go," she said as her pet turned back to her kitten-like form.  
  
"Hai, we do," Miroku agreed. "Shall we go to sleep now? I would be delighted to escort you to your room."  
  
"That would be nice," Sango replied. She began to lead her way to her room when she felt a familiar hand rub her backside.  
  
*SLAP, SLAP, SLAP!*  
  
"HENTAI!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat as an agonizing pain tore through his heart. Her hands were between them... she wasn't even trying to push him away. He tried to turn away from them but he couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from the kissing pair.  
  
His hands were hidden beneath her shirt and he guessed that he was touching her intimately. His back was to him, his dark hair keeping their faces from his sight. Inuyasha wanted to close his eyes and believe that this was a deception, but he could clearly see that it WAS Kagome.  
  
His chest began to constrict and he clenched his fists tightly, angrily, but not at Kagome. He was mad at himself... he didn't know why, but he just couldn't be mad at Kagome.  
  
He had begun to turn away when he heard a small sob. He turned again and nearly gasped. Naraku had twisted a bit, letting Inuyasha see Kagome's face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and he saw that her hands were trapped tightly between her and Naraku, but she was still fighting to free herself furiously. That's when it hit him - the bastard was forcing himself on HIS girlfriend!  
  
Inuyasha grabbed hold of Tetsusaiga and yelled, "Keep your hands off my girlfriend!" as he swung at Naraku.  
  
Naraku seemed to have sensed him somehow, because he managed to dodge his attack at the very last moment, releasing Kagome's shaking form.  
  
Inuyasha stepped up to Kagome, worry etxched upon his face as he stared at his shivering companion. "Kagome, daijobu?"  
  
No sooner had the question left his lips when Kagome suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. He reached up to smooth back her hair as he clutched him to herself, whispering frightened words into his ears. Her face was buried in his hair as she cried, and he warily watched the furious Naraku from where he stood on the opposite side of the cave.  
  
"Inuyasha..." she sobbed. "Arigatou. If you hadn't come, he would have... oh, Inuyasha!"  
  
Inuyasha felt his anger rise, and he gently pushed Kagome away from himself as he turned to glare at Naraku. "So you're Naraku. I finally met you, you fucking bastard of a coward. What have you done with the princess?!"  
  
He didn't see Kagome cringe behind him at the metion of the princess. "How could you do this to your own princess, to your own world!? Let Azalea go and I promise to kill you quickly. I'll even make considerations, despite the fact that you damn near raped the woman I love!" he yelled out the last part of that, cracking his knuckles.  
  
"Ku ku ku... you don't know half of it, half breed,' he replied enigmatically.  
  
Befroe he could swipe at him, Naraku disappeared, just like that, into a cloud of dark smoke. Inuyahsa coughed violently and held his nose, hearing Kagome do the same behind hm.  
  
"I'll get you Naraku!" he hollered. "You'll pay for everything you've done!"  
  
He turned to Kagome just in time to see her fall to the ground. "Kagome!" he shouted in alarm, not knowing what had happened. One moment, she was standing there, and the next...  
  
Kagome was deathly pale, andhe noticed that she was absently trying to reach down her thigh, and he looked down to see what it was. There, right on her leg, was a small scratch that was rapidly changing color.  
  
"What the fuck..." he began.  
  
"Poison... liquid miasma... he had injected it at me when he kissed me... Inuyasha..."  
  
Her loss off consciousness prevented her from saying much else.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Another chap finished! Yay! I actually finished typing this at three in the morning. Oh well... so I lost track of time!?  
  
As I said, this is the last chap before the lemon, so watch out for it. ^_^  
  
Responses:  
  
TheWraith: Ooooh... DBZ! I absolutely adore Trunks. Anyway, I'm glad you like my fic, and I actually have an idea as to what to do about Kagura and Kanna at the end of the fic. Japanese pronunciations can be quite queer, but that's what's so fun about their language, lol! BTW, you have GREAT ideas! Anyone would want to co-write with such a witty person. Heck, I'd do it if I had the time and if you would agree. ^_^  
  
KrysTheAngel: Hehehe... what can I say... I love fluff! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope I got you into a fluffy-enough mood to write your fluff chaps! Whatever your problem is, I hope you can get past it asap. Problems suck. Good luck in solving it! BTW, you're a working student?! How cool is that?! I wanted to work for my college fees, but my dad is too protective and won't let me. He said he'd rather pay for everything coz it was his duty and all that crap. But I REALLY want to work. And don't skip work! That would be less pay!  
  
Kinara: Yay! ^_^  
  
Sparkling_aura: I was actually a bit late in emailing you, gomen! But I guess you don't mind, ne? ^_^ I'm glad you like my fic. You live in Canada? Cool! My boyfriend is leaving for Canada FOR GOOD on October... maybe you can keep an eye on him for me, lol! I don't know how he would survive there... he doesn't know a single word of French. ^_^  
  
BlazinRuby: I'm glad you liked my last chap! Here's the update!  
  
Blubber: The lemon is coming, don't worry! I'm glad you like my fic!  
  
DragonStar03: I'm glad you like it!  
  
Litwolf689: Oooh, I simply detest power outages. It makes me feel so useless. BTW, it's not really 'almost done', but I'm only about ten chaps away... that's still a lot and besides, I hate to admit it but I've got the end of this fic all planned out, and I'm anxious to write it! About the movies, an exclusive anime store sells them here in the Philippines, and that's mostly where I get 'em. You could even get posters and lots of other fanstuff there. I don't have to go through the agony of waiting on the internet for their release. The store does that. But they mostly sell DVD's. And No, your reviews don't bug me. I love long reviews!  
  
Hanamaru285: Here's the chap!  
  
Niku: Thanks! I'm glad you like my fic. And oh yeah... they are catching up real quick, too.  
  
Trina: Salamat! I hope you received my email... Glad you like my story!  
  
Justmeh: I just HAD to get her kidnapped one more time. It's so much fun to write those scenes! ^_^ I'm glad you like it!  
  
Hyperchica11: If you happy, me happy too!  
  
A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews! I love reviews, and they make me feel all fuzzy inside! Please tell me what you think of this chapter. Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	20. Eternity

A/N: (EDIT) Here is the next chap! This may seem to end rather abruptly because its FULL version, which is a LEMON, is on another site. Two sites, actually. It is posted on both and to those who can't find it, since the two sites seem to be having problems, here's a link:

http / inu. adultfanfiction. net / story. php? No 6445 & chapter21 (remove spaces)

By the way, I know that the actual word 'miasma' means 'cloud' or 'mist'. I just used it as a sort of proper noun in this fic to refer to Naraku's poison thingy. Anyway, on with the chap! Please tell me what you think! R and R! Enjoy!

20. Eternity

oooooooooo

"What the fuck..." he began.

"Poison... liquid miasma... he had injected it at me when he kissed me... Inuyasha..."

Her loss of consciousness prevented her from saying much else.

oooooooooo

"KAGOME!!!" Inuyasha shouted in alarm, shaking Kagome. He pulled her up into his arms in panic, shaking her almost roughly as he called her name repeatedly. He brushed her wet bangs away from her face and futilely fanned her with his hand.

He laid her down on the ground and crept down. He sucked the wound on her leg with his mouth, absently thinking that he was doing the first aid treatment for a snakebite. He spit out the blood that he had sucked up and put his mouth back on her leg, desperately pulling out the poison, along with her infected blood.

"Inukkoro!" a voice called from somewhere in the cave. Inuyasha reared up and noted that Kouga's scent was suddenly coming closer.

"Oi, dog-turd! Have you found - KAGOME!!!" Kouga shouted when he saw Kagome's limp unconscious form lying in Inuyasha's arms. "What the hell happened here?!"

"She got poisoned... we have to get out of this hellhole," Inuyasha replied. "The poison that infected her is starting to spread through the cave and I think this thing is falling apart," he added when he realized that the scent of the air around him was rapidly changing as well.

"I got ya," Kouga replied and turned back towards the exit. Inuyasha held on to Kagome tightly before racing off and heading out of the cave.

Both youkai frantically ran out of the crumbling, miasma-filled structure, with Kouga furiously kicking falling debris out of their way for Kagome not to get hit. Both emerged from the cave, sweaty and dirty, to be greeted by a reddening sky, signaling the coming sunrise.

'My twenty ninth day,' Inuyasha thought absently, setting Kagome down once they were more than a few meters away from the cave. He laid her on the ground before him, his face pale.

Kouga stooped down and put a hand on Kagome's forehead. "She doesn't feel hot."

"I told you, she was fucking poisoned! Of course she doesn't feel hot!"

"Hey, I was just checking!" Kouga shouted in defense. "What kind of poison did she get?"

"I have no fucking idea," Inuyasha replied, lifting her head off the ground and putting her head on his lap. Kouga seemed too upset and distracted to protest. "But she did mention something about... I'm not sure..."

"Well what did she say?!"

Inuyasha snarled at the wolf and looked back at Kagome, wiping sweat from her brow. "She said it was liquid Miasma, I think."

Kouga gasped audibly and Inuyasha was distressed. "What? Do you know what that is?" Inuyasha demanded as his panic continued to escalate.

Kouga nodded. "Miasma... it's a powerful poison... was Naraku in there?"

It was Inuyasha's turn to gasp. "Hai... You know the bastard?"

"Of course I know that fucker! Everybody knows him! He took the princess away!"

Inuyasha went silent as he watched Kouga's expression change into that of seething rage. "He has done a lot to this world... now no one can even get to him... wait... YOU got to him! Why didn't you kill him!?"

Inuyasha went into defensive. "Because the guy fucking disappeared! The moment I got there, he just turned and disappeared!"

Kouga turned his gaze away from both him and Kagome. "Miasma is Naraku's deadliest aura," Kouga said, before glaring at Inuyasha. "How did she catch miasma?"

"I don't god damn know, alright?! I never even knew about Crystallia until a few damn weeks ago!" Inuyasha blurted, before catching himself. 'Shit. I said too much.'

Kouga grinned. "I knew it. You're not from this realm, are you?" he practically stated.

Inuyasha nodded hesitantly. "I was sent here for Naraku. Now shut up about it!"

"Where does Naraku reside right now?"

"NANI?!"

Kouga looked exasperated. "You were sent for Naraku, so you probably know where he is better than I do. Now, where the hell is he hiding?"

Inuyasha blinked. "The palace dwellers said that he is in the garnet tower. What of it?"

Kouga stared and told him he was an idiot, before standing and turning away completely, facing the north. "The fucker is in the garnet tower, and I need him to be able to cure Kagome."

The wolf turned to regard Inuyasha briefly. "I'm gonna go and find him... maybe I could find an antidote or something. You stay with Kagome."

Inuyasha glared at the youkai who dared to order him around, but held his tongue. Kagome was in serious danger, and Kouga was naturally faster than him. He could get to the garnet tower faster. "Keh. Ok. But what made you think you can get anything out of him?"

Kouga shrugged. "I'll do everything to save my woman. I'll leave her to you for a while. Take care of her while I'm gone. If I'm not mistaken, there's an abandoned shack somewhere here. Take her there. Alright?"

Kouga rushed off before giving Inuyasha the chance to reply. The inu hanyou blinked, then turned his attention back to Kagome. He lifted her again, bridal style, and sniffed around futilely, looking for the shack Kouga had mentioned.

He caught the faint scent of wood and dry grass and concluded that the scent must be coming from a hut of sorts. He kissed Kagome's forehead lightly, before running off in the direction of the scent.

"Kagome, please be alright," he pleaded silently. He hurried further when he saw her wince and stretch her fingers, desperately looking for the source of her discomfort. "I can't lose you, Kagome. Not like this..."

He ran even faster, if that was even possible at the rate he was going, when he saw a dark shape in the horizon. The rising sun was starting to glow overhead, and he reached the shape as the sun completely revealed its glory.

It was the shack that Kouga had mentioned. Inuyasha would have leaped in joy had he not been holding Kagome. He kicked the door open and sniffed, looking around the house. It was completely empty, and not a single living scent clung to any of the walls. It seemed as if the house had been abandoned years ago. It was roughly only fifteen square feet large, but it would suffice.

In a corner of it was a very old blanket, and Inuyasha didn't trust it enough to put Kagome on it while she was so fragile. Instead, he squatted down and rested Kagome on his lap, slowly taking his haori off. He pulled it off completely and laid it on the old rug before setting Kagome down. He noticed that a small fireplace was in the center of the house, though not a single log of wood could be found within it.

He looked down when he heard Kagome let out a small sob. She was still unconscious, and he noticed that her face was pale and her lips were a bit blue. He gasped, before instinctively reaching down to grasp her hand.

"Fuck!" he nearly shouted when he touched her. Kagome was ice-cold. Inuyasha really began to panic now. They were all alone in the middle of nowhere, his girlfriend was infected by a strange sort of poison and he had no clue as to what he was supposed to do.

He ran a panicked hand through his hair and muttered curses under his breath. Kagome was now panting softly, shivering, and she was sweating profusely despite the cold that surrounded her body.

Inuyasha was trembling in frenzy. "Dammit Kagome! Wake up!" he yelled, but nothing happened. She just continued her panting breaths and Inuyasha's brain was clouded with fear. What if Kouga couldn't make it back in time for the antidote? What if she died? He could barely choke down the thought of sitting there and watching his only love die.

He took her into his arms and hugged her trembling form, pressing her close to his chest. Tears began to form in his eyes as he realized that his ignorance may lead to his losing Kagome. "Kagome... wake up, onegai..." he whispered in her ear, softly inhaling the wonderful scent of her hair. "Kagome... aishiteru. Don't leave me... I can't lose you!"

oooooooooo

Naraku sat by the wall of the highest tower of the garnet palace. He glared ahead, seething at the silver-haired hanyou who had kept him from taking Azalea... from taking Kagome. He had been so close! So close, he had even managed to inject some of his poison into her already.

He had meant to use just enough of the liquid miasma to immobilize her, so she wouldn't put up much of a fight as he had his way with her, but the plan backfired. He had accidentally injected a couple of drops too much when Inuyasha came in.

He had no idea what was happening to Azalea at present, but he believed that she was strong enough to surpass it. If not... she may die.

He punched a hole into the wall as the realization hit him. "Had I just killed her? Had I just taken the life of the woman whom I have loved and lusted after for all these years? The one whom I had sold my soul for?" he asked out loud, fury building in him.

Should he find her and help?

"No," he resolved softly as something occurred to him. If she died, he just might be able to bring her back anyway.

He grinned maniacally, holding up the glowing Shikon no Tama. 'If she dies, this can bring her back. Then I can have her.' If she doesn't, all the better. He wouldn't have to use the shikon.

The Shikon... a force that could make or break an entire realm... was stored within a small gem. It was strange, to say the least, knowing that the Shikon was the reason why Azalea was so powerful... the reason why she could not even be touched by any man.

And now that the power was not within her, she was just an ordinary girl - though she did still have some holy powers. Because while it was the shikon that served as her source, she would never have been able to use and command the power if she didn't have any powerful magic of her own.

Naraku smirked again. 'I would have you, Azalea. No matter what. I swear it.'

A knock on his door startled him out of his musings. "Come in."

Kanna came in, holding up her mirror. "Naraku-sama, the ookami prince is coming for you."

Naraku glanced at the mirror and noticed that it was, indeed, Kouga. He was running at a frantic speed, heading for his dwelling, but was still too far off to even reach him within a day's span.

Naraku just grinned again. "Let him. He is easy prey."

oooooooooo

Inuyasha fanned the fire to life and grinned when it blazed fierily. He looked back at Kagome and noticed that she had at least stopped shivering.

It had taken some time for him to convince himself to let go of her long enough to find firewood and light a fire. Actually, it had taken him a lot of time. It was already quite late in the afternoon, and he had missed out on his lunch already.

It was actually a rather hot day (as usual), but he desperately needed the fire because of Kagome. Besides, it would be dark in a short while. She was still shivering, and the thing that had finally convinced him to get up and make a fire was the fact that Kagome had begun to subconsciously groan in her sleep and say that she felt cold. Figures - she was shivering, and her skin was cold.

Inuyasha picked up the rag that he had found and wet it with water from his magic flask. He had warmed the water over the fire and was now applying it to Kagome's forehead. He didn't know whether she was getting better or worse, and in his frightened state, the fact that he could have taken her and looked for a healer completely slipped from his mind.

He took her hand in his and mused as Kagome's body calmed down enough and stopped trembling. Her lips were no longer blue, so he supposed she wasn't as sick as she was when Naraku had struck her.

He looked up at the sky and noted that the sun was relatively high, but not at its peak. 'Hmm... I wonder if Miroku is out of the castle by now.'

He sat bolt upright and nearly slammed his head against the wall. 'Of course! That hentai houshi must know what to do!'

He scrabbled around and took his amulet out of the robes that Kagome was laying upon.

oooooooooo

The wind blew mercilessly against them, but neither paid any heed. Her hair was flying in all directions and his robes went this way and that, but it was alright. Carefully combed fur was all tangled and both people were holding onto it for dear life as they flew hundreds of feet from the ground, but they were all still joyful.

Gods... it felt sooo good to finally leave the palace!

Sango laughed as Miroku complained that her hair was in his face. Miroku grinned when Sango slapped him for his groping her backside. But it didn't matter.

They were out to be useful again. They could finally help Inuyasha.

It was a way past midday, and the flying trio could see that the sun would be setting in less than an hour. The sun was already low on the horizon painting the sky lovely shades of red and gold, and the pair had set off very early in the morning, carefully finding comfortable positions on Kirara's back as they rode off. Sango had looked sad as she gazed as the dry fields of Crystallia, but they had tried to keep the depression out of their minds.

Speaking of depression... Miroku was moving in for another good grope when the amulet around his neck began to glow brightly. "Shimatta," he cursed softly as he reached into his robes to take the amulet out.

"Inuyasha!" he yelled enthusiastically as soon as he saw the man's face. "We're on our way to help you out as we speak!"

Miroku's chuckle died in his throat when he finally realized how crestfallen his comrade looked. "Inuyasha, daijobu?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No... Miroku, I need your help!"

Sango looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha's tone of voice. Surprise was evident on the taijiya's face as she asked, "Inuyasha, what's wrong? You sound troubled."

"I am..." the warrior stated. "Do you... do any of you two know what to do about a person who got a bad case of Miasma?"

Sango and Miroku both gasped. Miroku was the first to recover though. "Inuyasha... does this mean you have already run into Naraku? Have you been infected?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm fucking dying? Yes, I ran into the asshole, but the guy managed to poison... somebody from the village he attacked. They all expect me to heal the person," Inuyasha made up a lame excuse, and Miroku never once fell for it.

'So, his companion has been poisoned... this sounds bad,' he mused, before perking up. "It would be easy enough for you, Inuyasha. You simply need to purify the infected person."

"NANI?"

Sango spoke up. "Miasma is made of evil youki, and the best way to eliminate it is to purify it out of the body. You need to let your powers merge into the infected person's aura for a moment, purifying the poison."

Inuyasha stared. "Are you idiots crazy? I don't have any purifying powers! Even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use them!"

Miroku sighed. "I don't know how to do it either, Inuyasha, but it should come naturally for you. As far as I know, there are only two people on Crystallia who have holy powers - you and Azalea-sama."

Something off-screen of Inuyasha suddenly glowed, and Miroku looked stunned for a moment. Inuyasha himself looked surprised. "Inuyasha, wha..."

"I gotta go."

And with that, Inuyasha closed up their communication.

Sango looked up at Miroku and asked what happened. The houshi just looked back at her in confusion. "Wakaranai, Sango. I don't know."

oooooooooo

Inuyasha was nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he listened to Miroku say something about two people with holy powers. He put a hand on Kagome's cheek, tenderly cupping it in his palm when all of a sudden...

"Inuyasha, wha..." Miroku asked, but Inuyasha cut him off with a curt "I gotta go."

Inuyasha looked back down at Kagome as he put the amulet away. Had he just imagined it, or did Kagome's cheek just glow where he touched it?

He touched her face again and saw the same glow emanating from the point of contact. 'What the heck... was Miroku right? Am I really capable of purifying her?'

As he released her cheek, he gasped. The part of her face that he had touched looked slightly warmer than the rest of her pale face. Color had returned to her cheek, but the paleness was quickly creeping back into her skin as long as the contact between them was severed.

Inuyasha quickly took hold of her face again, and realized that he was putting color back to her face simply by touching her. 'I think I AM purifying the Miasma!'

He patted the spot beside the part he had touched earlier, and noticed that the paleness was now taking a longer time catching up to his healing caresses. It seemed like the more he touched of her, the more she healed.

He lost no time in touching the rest of her face. He tenderly caressed her other cheek, her nose, her forehead, neck and even her ears. As he did so, the points where they touched glowed and blood rushed back to it.

He leaned back as soon as he finished touching her face, but frowned when he noticed that the paleness from the parts that he had not touched were creeping into her face. He touched her face again, but the color was vanishing as the wan color of her chest and other body parts began to spread through her again.

That's when he realized it. He was only purifying the parts he had touched, but the poison in those that he hadn't would still continue to spread. Meaning...

Inuyasha gulped and groaned when he realized that he would have to touch ALL of her. 'Shit... this is torture sent by the gods,' he thought in desperation. Kami knew how much he wanted her, and seeing her naked, and actually be able to touch her and not claim her was weighing on him.

He could feel a lower part of his anatomy stand out more than usual at the thought of seeing her naked, but he quickly stomped his thoughts down. 'Shit... just thinking about the prospect is getting me all excited!' he thought in agitation. Would he have to touch her actual skin too? Maybe he could touch her through her clothes and it would still work? It was a hopeful thought.

He decided to experiment. As much as he wanted to be able to touch her, Inuyasha would never dream of taking advantage of an unconscious girl. Specially not THIS girl. He pushed her skirt down and put the hem in the center of his palm as he touched her, so that half his hand was on her bare thigh and half was on her skirt. He lifted his hand, along with her skirt, and gulped again.

The bare leg that he had touched was starting to gain color, but the part that was obstructed by the skirt was still pale.

He would have to strip her. Damn.

He gulped loudly as he tried to decipher how to take her clothing off. He had come close to peeping at her while she bathed before, but never actually had the guts to do it... he had no idea what came off before what, and the fact that he was actually gonna see her naked form was making his blood pound in his head.

He decided to just wing it. He hurriedly took her shirt, skirt and shoes off and after a few blunders and ripped seams, Inuyasha managed to get her garments off. Now for her underwear.

She was wearing a thick bandage around her chest, and he carefully unwound it, trying hard not to really look, to no avail. Besides, such a hope would never be accomplished. He was gonna do a LOT more than just look at her body to be able to heal her.

When her breasts were free from the confining bandage, he looked down to see her junction covered by a small strip of rectangular cloth. 'Panties,' he thought in amusement. He reached down to take them off, but decided to leave her with some sort of modesty.

'I would NOT take them off!' he resolved quietly. He would just feel around her (which in itself made him blush a million shades of red), but he would not look at her feminine junction. It was bad enough that he would be feeling her up. He would leave her with her underwear!

And so, he set to work. The sun had set by now, making the fire his only source of light. Laying over her and straddling her legs gently, he carefully and tenderly touched each and every part of her. He felt a big amount of guilt in his chest, doing this without her consent, but it was the only thing he could do to save her at the moment. And worse than that, he knew that he was privately savoring every moment of it.

He started with her head, going lower not so gradually. He couldn't afford to go too slowly because the remaining poison spread very quickly, and if he didn't hurry, the parts he had purified would be tainted again in a few minutes. He blushed heavily as he worked on her chest, turning his eyes away to not put himself into a bad position.

As he smoothed his palms over her right arm, he realized that he had forgotten to take her wrist bandages off. He had just moved to do so when a small hand suddenly wrapped around his wrist. He stiffened as the hand let go of his wrist, and its owner spoke softly.

"Don't..."

Inuyasha turned towards the source of the voice and came face to face with Kagome. She was neither smiling nor frowning, and her blue/gray eyes were still slightly glazed.

Inuyasha was frantic. "Kagome... please... this isn't what it looks like..."

She put a finger on his lips to silence him, cutting him off mid-apology. "I know," she stated. "I know... how Miasma is treated. Go on, Inuyasha," she told him, smiling softly.

Inuyasha continued with much reluctance, thinking how much easier it was when she was asleep. Every time he touched her differently, Kagome would let out soft sounds of pleasure, and he was going insane. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Kagome..." he breathed, staring deeply into her eyes. "I want to feel all of you... And I want you to feel how much I need you. Let me love you, onegai."

Kagome smiled and nodded, and he lost no time in claiming her lips in a hot, passionate kiss. Inuyasha expressed his love to Kagome fully that night... he showed her his passion, his desire... he let her know just how much he needed her... and Kagome showed him how much she adored, loved and worshipped him.

For that one night... for that one magical night... the two souls were one.

oooooooooo

A/N: That's the chap! I hope you all enjoyed it! Anyway, as I said earlier, this was a short chap because its full version is a lemon, which is posted on both and It's almost completely different from this version, of course. I get more... descriptive when I write lemons. LOL!

Responses!

Koinu no Ai: Hehe... gomen for the cliffy. I just can't help it! LOL! I'll try not to leave you all on the brink next time. And hey... this aint a cliffy. Compensation, ne? I'm glad you like my fic. And oh yeah... NO Kikyo in this fic!

LiLmissy16: Uy! LTNS! It's ok, really! I know how hectic high school can be. Flattered nga ako kasi rineview mo pa rin ako kahit grounded ka na. I'm glad you liked my previous chaps. Chap17... The one with the truth or dare? Hehehe... I gotta admit, kinikilig ako habang tina-type ko yun. Haha! And thanks, but I already saw the trailer. It was pamatay talaga! I got the movie from a business-minded schoolmate.

LiL-Kagome: blushes Thanks! I'm glad you like my story so much! Anyway, I'm sure you can do better! Thanks again!

Litwolf689: A Nar/Kag lemon!?! Ew, ew, ew, ew, eeeeeew! That's gross! You needn't worry. I would NEVER, EVER write anything as disgusting as that! Anyway, the biggest anime store in this country, as far as I know, is Comic Alley. I get my Inuyasha stuff from a business-minded schoolmate of mine who sells the cds at a cheaper price. I'm a bit of a cheapskate.

Niku: Don't worry. Kagome is mighty fine by now! LOL! About my Inuyasha stuff, I get them from a certain schoolmate who sells anime stuff for a lower price. The biggest anime chain here in the Phils is Comic Alley.

Dragonstar03: Wehehehehe... I am, aren't I? I will in a few chaps, don't worry! I just can't let him know YET. I have a BIG plan for that little revelation.

Kagomechan1234567890: Whoa... that was a lot of numbers. Yeah! Go Inu/Kag! Yeah!!!!

Trina: Salamat! Thanks! Gracias! Arigatou!

TheWraith: Kanna is like, TOTALLY creepy, in a Halloween sort of way. Naraku as target practice?! ROTFLMAO! That's hilarious! I should suggest that to my archery instructor! I still think you're witty, even if you do say that you're insane most of the time!

BlazinRuby: puts left hand over right chest I swear to kill Naraku painfully and slowly for that! LOL!

KrysTheAngel: Wow! Two reviews for me from you! Thanks! I'm glad you liked my last chaps, and I've got to admit that I grossed myself out while writing that scene with Kagome and Naraku (the perv). Anyway, I'm glad I helped in putting you in 'fluffy mood'. LOL! And about my not working for my tuition, it's not because we're economically stable or anything... I somehow managed to pass the exams into my country's top university. It's a school for supposed brainiacs, so I'm kind of a scholar because my fees are totally minimal, so my dad insists that I have helped him enough already just by making it to UP. But I still wanna work! Waaah! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!!! sweatdrops Now I'm rambling. And I don't mind ranting... I like long reviews, and I rant a lot too! Thanks! And oh yeah... all hail fluff and limes! Hip hip, hooray!

Gueshoo: Hehehe... I'm afraid of blood! Anyway, as I promised BlazinRuby, I swear to kill Naraku painfully and slowly for that. And I STILL think your signature is cool!

Justmeh: Wrong indeed... I was soooo grossed out as I wrote out that scene. EEEW!!!

Hyperchica: Hehe... I guess I just LOVE turning characters into airheads. LOL!

Hanamaru285: I'm glad you like it!

Did I miss anyone? Don't hesitate to tell me if I did. Gomen. That would be fault (right... blame it on everything else, Scarlet!).

Anyway, I would like to say THANK YOU to all those who reviewed this chap and the previous ones. A-I-SHI-TE-RU! I love you all! Please read and review this chap! And if you decide to read THE other version, please review me for that too! I really need to know what people think of my work, lemon or not. Comments, suggestions, positive feedback and criticisms are all VERY welcome! A-RI-GA-TO-U!

ScarletRaven1001


	21. Great Jokes

A/N: Before I begin this chap, I'd like to give out some very special acknowledgements.  
  
This chapter was inspired by two things: firstly, by the problem I am having with my boyfriend right now. He is leaving *permanently* for Canada this October, and I'll never see him again... damn. (T_T) I know exactly how Kagome feels right now. Jesus... when I started this fic, I had no idea that I would actually be living it!  
  
Secondly, by the long distance relationship of a friend of mine with her boyfriend. Charlene, my friend, had met her dream guy in mIRC actually, in the person of an American named David. I had a severe case of writer's block, fuelled by my heartbreak, and her telling me about her boyfriend one day gave me a sudden hit of inspiration. Their love story is sooo romantic, it gave me ideas. One of the lines in this chap is actually derived from something she told me that he had said to her.  
  
So, they indirectly helped me with this chap, and I'd like to express my thanks. Their relationship is rather "against all odds", with a few junky *losers* standing in the way, but I know that they would make it through somehow. I'm a romantic - I believe that love can move mountains. Thanks again!  
  
Anyway, this chap is dedicated to them. To Charlene, the best friend anyone could ever have, to David, who lights up my friend's days, and to my boyfriend, who I god damn love and will greatly miss once he leaves. Thanks again!  
  
Well, I hope everybody enjoys this little chappy. It took me a helluva lot of revising to get this out, which finally settled after inspiration hit. And no, people, this chap isn't purely fluff. I was in a very fluffy mood as I wrote this, but I furiously fought the fluffbears in my brain to get a decent chapter out. A small warning though - this chap is a bit angsty.  
  
I know, I ranted too much again. You guys probably don't even read a/n's. On with the chap!  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be a virgin. KAMI! I don't own him! As much as I'd want to own those cute ears, those amber eyes, that HOT body and that... I just don't, ok?  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Great Jokes  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome slowly opened her eyes, squinting hard against the sunlight that managed to enter the hut. The tiny cracks in the wooden walls let in enough sunlight to stir her from the most peaceful sleep she has ever had.  
  
She was backed up against something hard, warm and solid, blanketed by a thick red quilt. She pulled the quilt up against her chest more tightly, before her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
'This isn't a quilt... kore wa Inuyasha no hakama...' she thought, before memories of the previous night assaulted her mind. She blushed wildly, a hand nervously smoothing back the hair that had fallen across her eyes, knocking back a strong arm that was wound possessively around her waist.  
  
"Mmhmm..." the one who owned the arm around her groaned, tightening his hold on her. She was spooned up against the said person, who mumbled incoherently, nuzzling her neck, before contently quieting back down into a deep sleep.  
  
"Inuyasha," she whispered wistfully, craning her neck slightly to look at the person who held her. She could see the side of his face, and noticed that a corner of his lips was turned up in a slight smile. She blushed again as she realized what that smile was probably about.  
  
She was not quite contented with what little part of him she could see, though. Slowly, carefully, she turned herself in his arms, so that she was looking right in his face instead of faced away from him.  
  
She watched him in something akin to awe. He looked so different in sleep. He looked almost... peaceful. The worry lines that were seemingly permanent on his face were smoothed back, giving him a nearly angelic expression.  
  
Kagome smirked at that. 'By the gods, Inuyasha is ANYTHING but angelic!' she thought in amusement, letting her fingers tread leisurely through his silver forelocks. The strands of his hair felt silky on her hand, and she followed the strands up to toy with his right ear.  
  
'Damn ears,' she thought with a small giggle when her target instinctively twitched away from her touch. 'Why these things fascinate me, I probably never will know. They're just so darn... so... kawaii!'  
  
She finally caught it, and she carefully rubbed the base of his small triangular ear. She suppressed a laugh when she heard a low rumbling purr come from her hanyou lover.  
  
'He really enjoys getting his ears rubbed,' she thought with a grin, but her train of thought was cut off when she remembered just how much he had liked it last night. She blushed again, and tried thinking of less seductive things. 'Miroku in my clothes... think of Miroku in my fighting clothes...' (A/N: I'd write "Miroku in a tutu" but they don't have tutus in Crystallia)  
  
She nuzzled her head in his chest, drawing random patterns on his skin with her fingers as she inhaled his tangy scent, listening to the steady beat of his heart. She only regretted the fact that her senses were not as sharp as his. She would have been able to smell him more sharply if they were. She hooked a leg against his and sighed.  
  
Inuyasha awoke slowly when he felt movement against his chest. He opened his eyes and he smiled when he saw a dark head of hair.  
  
'Kagome,' was the only thing his brain came up with at the sight. She was lying close to him him, tracing lazy patterns on his bare chest. Her breasts were pressed against him and she was breathing softly, humming a soft tune almost unconsciously.  
  
"Hey," he said to break the ice. She looked up at him with a smile.  
  
"Ohayou," she greeted him.  
  
Inuyasha mock pouted. "You say the same thing every morning," he said, wrapping his arms more tightly around her.  
  
"Of course I do... what else would I say other than 'good morning', Inu- chan?" she asked with a similar pout. "Any ideas?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned. "How about, 'hey there handsome, how was your night?' "  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "And you think I would consider that because...?"  
  
He shrugged. "Just hoping."  
  
She laughed and kissed the tip of his nose in a pacifying manner. "Ok then... hey there handsome, how was your night?"  
  
He grinned again, before replying. "Oh, the night was G-R-E-A-T. Do you plan to ask me how my sleep was, as well?"  
  
Kagome blushed as red as the hakama that covered them both, realizing what she had said. "Pervert," she replied as Inuyasha began laughing.  
  
"Can I greet now?" Inuyasha asked as his laughter died down. She puffed her cheeks at him.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes, then," he said. "Hello to the loveliest creature on earth. How was your sleep? You look vibrant... I take it you slept well?"  
  
She grinned up at him. "Thanks for calling me vibrant and lovely... I slept well, thanks to you. You really tired me out. Darn exercising..."  
  
Inuyasha blushed this time, before both burst into laughter.  
  
Kagome was still sputtering with laughter when she realized that Inuyasha had quieted down, staring at a point beyond her and looking seriously deep in thought. She calmed down in an instant, worried.  
  
"Inuyasha," she called hesitantly. He didn't even glance at her. She tried again, but he seemed to distracted to hear. She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek, pulling his face to her to look into his troubled eyes. "Inuyasha... daijobu?"  
  
Inuyasha put his hand on her hand on his cheek. He pulled it up gently, holding it between his own. "Kagome," he began, staring into her concerned gray/blue eyes. "Aishiteru."  
  
Kagome was puzzled, but managed a smile. "I know. Aishiteru mo. What's bothering you?"  
  
He took a deep breath before resuming. "Kago-ko... I don't want to lose you... I- I can't live without you! What would I do once I... once I leave?"  
  
She stifled a gasp. She had nearly forgotten about that!  
  
"I... I don't know, Inuyasha. Wakaranai," she replied as small tears formed in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you too, demo... we can't help it Inuyasha. We knew from the start that parting is inevitable. We can't do anything about it."  
  
"IYA! I can't just allow that! Kagome, if I were to lose you, it would kill me! I've never felt like this for anyone before and I don't want this to end," he protested. "Isn't there any way? Any way to keep you with me?"  
  
Kagome smiled bitterly. "Gomen. You can't stay here for longer than your allotted time, or your world will be destroyed. Remember? We can only live in the moment and make the most of it, so that when it is all over, once we part, we can still look back on the memories..."  
  
Inuyasha growled, sending a small rumble trough Kagome's chest. "I don't want to look back on only memories Kagome! I want you with me... you, for the rest of my life."  
  
"Demo, I will be with you, Inuyasha!" she said, putting a hand on the right part of his chest. "I will always be in your heart... as you will be in mine. And last night... we left a part of ourselves in each other last night. We will never be truly apart."  
  
"It's not the same. I want to be with you," he argued. "I want to wake up to your voice everyday. I told you that I love hearing your voice first thing in the morning, remember? I want to be able to hold you in my arms for all my life, to start a family with you, to grow old with you... I don't wanna let go of the best thing that ever happened to me."  
  
The tears in Kagome's eyes began to fall. "I don't want to lose you too. Inuyasha, I really don't want you to go! Why did this happen? Why do you have to be from a different world?" she asked in anguish. She cried on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his chest  
  
"I don't know... fate is cruel," he said in contemplation, softly combing his fingers through her obsidian tresses. "I guess... it must be Kami's idea of a great joke, having the two of us born in different worlds. We could have just lived in different continents and it would have been easier, but no... we had to be from different dimensions."  
  
Kagome cried harder, and Inuyasha did his best to comfort her. He hated seeing her crying, but this time, he couldn't really blame her. Hell, he wanted to cry too! He patted her back softly, whispering soothing words in her ear, when something occurred to him.  
  
"Kagome!" he called, suddenly bright. Kagome looked up to him through tear- stained eyes.  
  
"Hai... nani?" she asked.  
  
Inuyasha looked excited. "I know how we can still be together after this!"  
  
Light entered her sad eyes at that. "Honto?"  
  
"Yeah! Once I rescue the princess, I could ask her for something, ne?" he asked.  
  
Kagome's heart fell slightly. 'He still doesn't know... that I'm the princess. Whatever he's thinking couldn't work. But maybe...'  
  
"Well, go on," she prodded.  
  
"I just thought... maybe I could ask her to let me bring you to my world!"  
  
She stiffened. 'Shit, I knew that was coming,' she thought as she visibly saddened.  
  
"Kagome? What's the matter? Don't you want to go to my world with me? I promise, you will never be lonely. I'll take good care of you!"  
  
Kagome knew it was impossible. Inuyasha could never wish for the princess herself to leave Crystallia. "I... I would love to go to your world with you, Inuyasha..."  
  
"But?" he asked, knowing something was on her mind.  
  
"I don't think that would be possible, Inuyasha. I belong here, unlike you. I really would want to, but... I don't know if..."  
  
Inuyasha looked determined though. "I would only ask for that, Kagome. I want you to be with me. Azalea is bound to give me that wish!"  
  
Kagome smiled sadly. "I know she would grant you anything, if it were possible."  
  
"She will. Kagome, promise me you'll go to my world with me? You told me that you no longer have anything here in Crystallia. I'm rich back in my world... I can give you AVYTHING you want. All I want to know is... would you?"  
  
She hid her oncoming tears before sadly nodding, pretending to be somewhat excited. "I promise to go with you, if the gods allow it."  
  
He brightened. "That's great!" he yelled, before leaning down and capturing her lips in his own. He pulled himself up so that he now lay over her, deepening the kiss as best as he could. He pulled away after a few minutes, breathless and grinning. One of his hands then traveled up to cup Kagome's right breast in his hand.  
  
"So..." he said slyly. "How about one more for the road? Before we resume our travel?"  
  
Kagome grinned back at him. "Animal," she joked, before reaching up to pull his head back for another kiss. She put her lips next to his ear as she pulled away and whispered, "Better make it quick... you only have twelve days left in Crystallia, you know."  
  
"That's long enough for me."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Sango! Behind you!"  
  
"Hiraikotsu!"  
  
The morning sun was now high in the sky, meaning it would be time for lunch in two or three hours. The pair had been traveling on Kirara's back peacefully, with Sango on her sleep shift.  
  
Since they had to travel day and night, they had agreed to sleep for a few hours one after another, all three of them never sleeping at the same time. Whenever it was Kirara's turn to sleep, she would turn back to her small form and Sango would carry the neko in her arms and walk on foot with the monk.  
  
Anyway, all was well until a large horde of youkai suddenly appeared and attacked them. They had managed to strike Kirara, and she had tilted enough to send both Miroku and Sango off her back and to the hard ground bellow. Miroku had managed to catch Sango and land on his feet, and now they were both quite widely awake, fighting to stay alive.  
  
It was their first time to actually fight without their powers in six whole years, and Sango was starting to get the hang of it. She remembered her days as a taijiya, fighting alongside her brother and father to protect the land from evil youkai.  
  
Miroku would have said that he was enjoying himself, were it not for the fact that they were in immediate danger. How he had missed fighting! He had been a mystic warrior as well as a monk before going to the palace, and fighting with his shakujou and ofuda really brought back memories.  
  
"Nice shot, Sango."  
  
"Arigatou, houshi."  
  
Miroku swung his staff above his head, aiming smartly for a particularly gruesome youkai that had its eyes trained on Sango. He dug into the first pocket of his robes and took out a small ofuda, slapping it onto another one that nearly managed to strike him. The nasty thing had clung to the bottom of his loose robes, and he furiously kicked it away before stabbing a small land youkai with the tip of his staff.  
  
Sango, wearing her black exterminator suit, had no problem with caught robes, but her hair was a common problem. "Aagh!" she yelled in fury when a thin demon that she swore reminded her of a tree pulled her by the hair, trying to make her fall to the ground. She furiously unsheathed the sword at her hip and stabbed through it.  
  
"No one touches my hair and lives!!!" she shouted, swinging her boomerang around to hit any monster that came within range.  
  
They could also hear Kirara growling angrily and furiously slashing the monsters down with her jaws and claws.  
  
Miroku was growing impatient. "They keep coming! There must be hundreds of them! I have to use the Kazaana!" he called out to Sango, who furiously shook her head.  
  
"We already - talked - about - that!" Sango yelled between strikes and stabs to different youkai. "You shouldn't use the Kazaana too often, and you - know - it!"  
  
"But I - have to!"  
  
"I don't care! We have to try to take them on without your Kazaana!"  
  
They continued their fight, but all three soon grew weary. Sango tripped on her own feet as she swung her bone boomerang, and Kirara, thankfully, caught her before she hit the ground.  
  
"Sango!" Miroku yelled when he saw Sango fall with a mad shout, and let out a sigh when Kirara came to the rescue. He ran over, swinging the shakujou around him to keep the youkai out of his path as he made his way to Sango.  
  
"Daijobu?" he asked hurriedly, as Kirara lunged forward and tackled the newest threats.  
  
"Hai, daijobu."  
  
"Usutsuki. You're exhausted," he commented as he turned to strike down another youkai. He pulled another ofuda from his robes and threw it out randomly as he looked back at Sango.  
  
"I really do need to use the air rip, Sango."  
  
Sango considered. The rip grew larger with each time the monk used it. But if he didn't use it now...  
  
"Alright. But be careful."  
  
Miroku nodded to her curtly, before holding the beads that covered his right hand in his left. "Kirara! Get out of the way! Sakenderu, ima sugu ni!"  
  
Kirara growled in understanding when she saw Miroku holding the rosary. She flew up, giving Miroku his cue.  
  
Miroku pulled the rosary and cloth off his hand hastily as the remaining youkai came within range. "KAZAANA!" he shouted, unleashing the air rip in his right palm.  
  
The youkai realized too late what the monk was doing. They tried to flee, but all was in vain. The kazaana had grown much more powerful by now, and all of them were sucked into the void.  
  
Miroku gave a final shout, covering his hand before falling to the ground in exhaustion. His hand was pulsing painfully, and his entire body felt rather numb. He clutched his hand tightly and brought it to his chest as he panted uncontrollably.  
  
"Miroku!" Sango shouted in alarm when she saw Miroku fall. "Miroku-sama! Are you alright? Gods, what's wrong!?"  
  
"Genki desu, Sango. It's just that my air void has never before sucked in so much negative energy..."  
  
Kirara came up to the pair and turned back to her small form. She mewled softly before climbing onto the monk's shoulder, nuzzling his sweat- dampened cheek.  
  
"Arigatou, Kirara. I'm fine now," Miroku said comfortingly. The neko jumped off his shoulder as Sango helped him up, and transformed into the large flame cat.  
  
The tired warriors helped each other climb the cat, and it took them a while before they were finally settled enough to start flying.  
  
"Miroku-sama, you should sleep," Sango said imploringly.  
  
"Demo, Sango-sama, it's still your turn, remember? You've only been asleep for three hours."  
  
"I know, but... you need the rest more than I do right now. Please go to sleep, houshi-sama. We'll just trade turns."  
  
Miroku eyes were drooping as they spoke. "Are you sure? You're tired too."  
  
"I'm positive. Go to sleep."  
  
Miroku smiled at her disarmingly before drifting off to sleep behind her. He let his shakujou lie across her lap and leaned slightly on her. She held on to his arms, smiling softly.  
  
"Rest yourself, Miroku. Sweet dreams," she whispered. 'Inuyasha. We're coming.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
After some early morning exercise, the lovers bathed in a nearby freshwater spring, dressed up and set off, hand in hand, towards the garnet tower. They had barely walked a hundred meters when Kagome stopped.  
  
"Nani, Kagome?"  
  
"Ano... Inuyasha... wasn't Kouga with you when I was abducted? Where is he and why did he keep calling you a sorcerer?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.  
  
Inuyasha smirked. "That moron... Kagura managed to outsmart him. She told him that I had kidnapped you and hypnotized you after I found out that you were falling in love with him. Dumb huh?" he said as he saw Kagome's eyebrow twitch in irritation.  
  
"So he thought that I was in love with him?"  
  
"Yeah... which reminds me - what in Kami's name did you do to make him think that you had a thing for him?"  
  
"You're not jealous are you? Coz I'm telling you, you'd have a heck of a small brain to doubt my affections after what happened last night and this morning."  
  
"I'm not jealous, just wondering."  
  
"Good," she said. "Well, I kinda led him on. I pretended to make a move on him so that I could get to the keys strapped around his waist."  
  
Inuyasha's eyes bugged out. "Don't tell me you seduced him?!"  
  
"NO! I just made his mind a bit hazy, that's all."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I forgot, now drop it. Where is he?"  
  
"Well... he went off to find Naraku when you got poisoned."  
  
"He did?" Kagome was astounded. "Why?"  
  
"He said he had no idea what the antidote was for Miasma, so he decided to go squeeze the answers out of Naraku," Inuyasha explained. "I would have gone, but I didn't want to leave you vulnerable. Besides, Kouga's faster than me."  
  
Kagome smiled. "Well, I'm glad you two put your differences away somehow. When did he say he would be back?"  
  
"Now that you mention it... he said he'd be back before dawn. He was in a hurry because we needed that antidote, which was right here all along. Keh. If I had known, he shouldn't have bothered."  
  
"Do you really want him to have been there last night?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"I knew that. Now I wonder what is taking him so long. We should have already run into him or something," Kagome said, changing the veering topic. "I'm worried."  
  
"I can see that. Is something wrong, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome was now chewing on her bottom lip in concentration.  
  
"Nothing really. It's just that... I can't help but get the feeling that something has gone terribly wrong," Kagome explains, looking at Inuyasha through glazed eyes. "I have a bad feeling about Kouga."  
  
Inuyasha squeezed her hand and smiled shakily. "Well, don't worry. That asshole is tougher and more stubborn than you could possibly think." He pulled her close, burying his face into her hair. "If something IS wrong, we'll save his sorry butt. Ok? Now don't worry."  
  
She nodded into his haori. Inuyasha gave her one more squeeze before pulling back, leading her to the tower by the hand.  
  
Kagome felt considerably lighter then, but couldn't dismiss the niggling feeling that something terrible had indeed happened to the ookami prince.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Naraku... teme. Let me go, you asshole!"  
  
Kouga flailed around in fury, glaring daggers at the evil hanyou. He was suspended in the ceiling by long tentacles that had spurted out from Naraku's body.  
  
"Let me off, you coward! Why don't you just tell me how I can heal my woman so that I could kill you quickly?" he demanded from his place on the roof.  
  
"You should talk, wolf. You seem very able from your place on my tower's ceiling!" Naraku chuckled darkly before Kanna came into the room, holding her mirror out before her.  
  
"Naraku-sama," she said in her weak voice. "There is something you have to see. The hanyou and Kagome..." she hesitated.  
  
"What about her?" Naraku asked, and he noticed that Kouga also perked up.  
  
"Look..." Kanna said before showing him what was in her mirror.  
  
Naraku gasped in surprise at the image before him, before his features contorted with rage. Kouga also saw what was in the mirror, and his eyes narrowed in anger at what he saw.  
  
Kanna's mirror showed Inuyasha and Kagome, covered in Inuyasha's hakama, but obviously naked. He lay above her, kissing her deeply while his hands were seemingly preoccupied beneath the hakama, and she had her hands tangled in his long hair, eyes closed as she kissed him back. Her cheeks were flushed, and she panted lightly as they pulled away.  
  
Inuyasha grinned at her, before kissing her lips lightly. She let a hand wander over to his muscular forearms, a small, tired smile grazing her lips.  
  
"Aishiteru, Inu-chan."  
  
"I love you too, Kagome. This is the best morning of my life."  
  
"Iya... MASAKA!!!" Naraku yelled, knocking Kanna and her mirror to the floor with his fist in his anger. The mirror shattered, releasing small wisps of smoke that apparently, were stolen souls.  
  
Kouga was in a state of shock. 'That filthy hanyou... and my Kagome. He had claimed her! How?! She was dying... what happened... how could they do this to me?!'  
  
Naraku was having similar thoughts. 'How could he have healed her? He didn't know what to do! He couldn't even purify a tree! How?'  
  
"This can't be happening! She was supposed to fall for me! She was supposed to make love to ME! Not that bastard from another dimension!" Naraku bellowed to the skies.  
  
Kouga looked down at the broken shards in pain. 'He had taken her... but, she is happy. She loves him... not me,' he thought, his heart feeling like it was being torn apart. He couldn't get himself to be mad at them... but he also couldn't bring himself to be happy for them anyway.  
  
His musings were interrupted when he heard a low, insane chuckling come from Naraku. "Asshole," he began, shaking his head. "Have you totally lost it now?"  
  
Naraku didn't answer - he simply pointed to Kanna. Kouga looked in the direction his hand was pointing to. He gasped when he realized that Kanna's mirror, which Naraku had shattered not a minute ago, was once again whole and gleaming.  
  
"Ookami..." Naraku began. "I now have the perfect use for you," he said, spurring Kanna towards the prince.  
  
Kouga fought his binds futilely. Kanna was now directly below him, pointing her white mirror in his direction. Kouga caught a glimpse of his angry, horrified expression before darkness took him.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Short chapter, I know. It just seemed like the best way to end it. No sense lengthening a chapter and making it end weirdly, ne? And sorry for the kind-of-cliffhanger. Can't help it. Besides, though I was quite inspired, I have so much to do for school today, and I'm still trying to decide whether I should accept that latest chorale invitation. Grrrr... I haven't even studied for my Biology exam yet!  
  
Reponses:  
  
Krys the Angel: Hi! I'm glad you liked my last chap. It took me a while to get that out! School's starting!? OOOOH... good luck! I'm not really smart, I'm just a big nerd. And I get the jitters whenever I see test questions too... they're worse than CK. *shudders*  
  
Litwolf689: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chap. And yes, you can review on aff.net too! There's actually a big bar beside the button with the dropdown chapter list box. It's a bit at the bottom of the page. You'll read it? Oh, thanks! Please review that too! I need reviews so that I know if what I write is worth the time...  
  
TheWraith: Haha! My archery instructor told me I can put whoever's face I want to put on my target as long as it makes me shoot better! Raditz? Man... that DOES sound hard. Giving Vegeta that story might be even harder though... or maybe not.  
  
Kawaii-Anime-Lover: It's ok! It doesn't really make too much of a difference if you read it or not. Heck, I started reading lemons when I turned 16! It took me long enough, ne? I still remember the first one I read... a blanket challenge entitled "The Storm". HEHEHE!!!  
  
Niku: Healthy, but tired. LOL! Salamat! Glad you liked my chap.  
  
Dragonstar03: Thanks!  
  
Jesse The Wolf Demon: I'm a hopeless romantic... ^_^ Thanks! I'm lad you like it that much. And oh... sorry for getting Kouga in trouble today. I'll make it up to your role model in the future, I swear.  
  
Trina: Hi textmate! Thanks for the review. Glad you like it. How was Florante at Laura? Hindi ka ba nastranded? LOL!  
  
Hanamaru285: Here's the update!  
  
Did I get everyone? I hope so. Anyway, as I always say in my time-consuming a/n's, THANKS to all those wonderful people who reviewed. *Goes teary-eyed* You guys are my LIFE!  
  
I hope you all liked this chapter. I know it probably isn't the best of everything I have ever written, but hey, I tried to make it good. I just don't know if I succeeded...  
  
And gods, I wanna know!!! Please, oh please, oh PLEASE tell me what you think. I would TOTALLY appreciate it. All comments are welcome. If you know me personally, please review. If you don't, please review! Just tell me what you think!  
  
Thanks again! Kiotskete, kudasai! Ja matta ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	22. Controlled

A/N: OMG! Gomen for taking soooo long with this chap! Hai, I am well aware that it took me forever to update this, but I've just been swamped for the last couple of weeks. You see, this past week was my last week at school, and you can imagine how much stuff I had to accomplish. I had like, ten different term papers to submit! Luckily, I had only one final exam to worry about (I was exempted from all other subjects, yatta!). But now that classes are over, I swear that it wouldn't take me as long to update. And yahoo to all hentai readers - I just updated my other fic, Feverish! I know, it took me long enough. Would you believe that I actually FORGOT about it!? Well, believe me - my memory is THAT bad. And it took me three months to get over the writer's block that I had with that fic. GOMEN NASAI!!!  
  
Enough with my useless ramblings. On with the fic! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I own a car (that I don't totally own - my parents do), a crappy computer, a few pieces of jewelry and some make-up, but I don't own Inuyasha. I own my fic though.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Controlled  
  
-----/---@  
  
"What do you mean, "you don't know"? You're supposed to fucking know!"  
  
An angry shout filled the early morning atmosphere. A usual morning with Inuyasha.  
  
The hanyou was seething again, glaring at the faces that he could clearly see through his amulet. Kagome stood a few feet away so as not to be seen by the people he was conversing with, wincing every time a profanity slipped from her lover's lips.  
  
"Inuyasha, I told you... we are only allowed to read a chapter of the sacred scrolls every year!" Miroku tried to explain. "Not even the princess has read the entire thing, and she is all-powerful in this realm! Nobody knows how the prophecy ends."  
  
"Well can't you break a single god damn rule for once?!" Inuyasha yelled yet again. "We've been waiting for news on Naraku since yesterday from Kouga..."  
  
Miroku stilled at his use of 'we', and was about to confront him about it when...  
  
"KOUGA?" Sango suddenly screeched from behind Miroku. "You know Kouga? The ookami prince?"  
  
"Yeah, so what?" Inuyasha snapped. "Anyway, yeah, he went ahead in search for an antidote, and he hasn't even shown his shitty face since then. I wanna know what happened!"  
  
"Inuyasha," Miroku replied carefully. "Even if we had already read the entire book, I don't think that Kouga would have been there. The book of prophecies doesn't tell of the fate of every single being on Crystallia."  
  
"So, you're telling me that you really don't know what would happen to this quest, at all?!"  
  
"That's right," Sango said shyly.  
  
"Shit, you guys are fucking useless!"  
  
"Gomen, Inuyasha," Miroku replied. "Anyway, we have one good news though! We're only a few kilometers from the Hangin Plain right now! We should be there by nightfall."  
  
Kagome let out a smothered sound of delight at that, and Inuyasha was suddenly lost.  
  
"Where the fuck is that hanging plain, and why should it be significant?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"That's HANGIN Plain, Inuyasha. Anyway," Sango replied with a smile. "Do you remember that plain that you passed right before you got to the hot, grassy valley about two weeks back?"  
  
Inuyasha started to shake his head, but suddenly stopped, confusing the heck out of Miroku and Sango when he suddenly grinned lecherously. He remembered, alright...  
  
--- Flashback ---  
  
"I'm roasting here, Kagome! Why in the seven hells does this land have such sudden weather swings?! Yesterday it was so fucking windy..." he said, but trailed off as an image flashed into his mind. He grinned, looking back at a blushing Kagome, who was smoothing her skirt down self-consciously.  
  
"I know what you're thinking, Inuyasha. That would NEVER happen again, you hear me!" she shouted in indignation. The previous day had been so windy, her already short skirt flew way up while she was bending over her bag in front of Inuyasha, giving the hanyou a full view of her underwear and smooth upper thighs. Her hands got caught in her bag in her panic, and she fought the straps for a few agonizingly embarrassing moments before she was able to pull her skirt back down.  
  
"Keh! It wasn't my fault that you weren't wearing shorts!" he replied with a smirk.  
  
--- End Flashback ---  
  
He glanced over at a blushing Kagome discreetly. 'Keh, it seems the wench remembers that day, too,' he thought. It was a funny thing though - after all they had shared, Kagome was still embarrassed about that incident.  
  
"Yeah, I remember. The windy plain... Is that the Hangin Plain?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Yes! We'll be there by nightfall!" Miroku exclaimed happily.  
  
"But it took us two weeks to get there! How did YOU get there in only three days?" Inuyasha demanded angrily.  
  
Miroku once again noticed Inuyasha's use of plural nouns.  
  
"Calm down, Inuyasha," Sango said. "We got there faster because Miroku and I have Kirara, and we travel twenty four hours a day."  
  
"Besides," Miroku interjected. "We haven't gotten attacked nearly as much as you did."  
  
"I can see that," Inuyasha remarked dryly upon noticing the monk's hardly scratched skin. "But anyway, I'm glad you guys would be getting here soon. We'll be waiting for you."  
  
'That is the last WE,' Miroku decided. "Inuyasha, I can't help but notice... what is with all the "we's" and "us's"?" he demanded. 'I will get a confession if it's the last thing I do!'  
  
Inuyasha flinched and turned a shade paler. Miroku noticed that the hanyou had suddenly looked somewhere offscreen, stuttering something under his breath.  
  
-----/---@  
  
'Fucking shit,' he thought, looking at Kagome in apprehension. Kagome, who had been listening, stiffened slightly.  
  
Kagome looked at her lover, undecided. 'Should we tell them? After all, Miroku-sama and Sango-chan will be here in a few days. This disclosure would be inevitable...' She knew how hard keeping her a secret from the crafty Miroku was for Inuyasha, and she had recently realized that lying to them would instantly bring a slightly guilty look to Inuyasha's eyes. They were, after all, his friends. They may not have known each other for long, but still...  
  
Kagome looked solidly back at Inuyasha and spoke very softly - so softly that only Inuyasha's hanyou ears would be able to hear her.  
  
"Tell them that you have a companion, but don't tell them who I am."  
  
Inuyasha's eyes instantly brightened at that. He felt guilty about keeping such a big secret from Miroku and Sango, and this would ease a small burden in his heart somehow. Besides, the monk was smart. It was getting harder and harder to do so.  
  
Inuyasha smirked. "Keh! And I thought you were smart! Haven't you figured it out yet, kouzo?" he taunted as he looked back at the other pair. "I have a companion. She's been with me since my first day in Crystallia. How did you think I got past everything so easily?"  
  
Miroku stuttered and Sango gave a small gasp. Both looked at each other before turning back to him.  
  
"Demo, how? Who...?" Sango asked.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Miroku demanded.  
  
"I'm not exactly immortal and invincible you know. I kinda need some help sometimes, and help is something that you two couldn't give me, stuck to the palace like you were. I didn't tell you because she didn't want me to. And on who she is," Inuyasha smiled slyly over at Kagome before turning back to the shocked pair. "You'll have to get here to find out."  
  
"You mean..." Sango began.  
  
"I won't tell you. You would have to meet her personally."  
  
Miroku suddenly looked disapproving. "Inuyasha, do you realize how risky that decision would have been? You took someone with you on your first day! Did it ever occur to you that she may have been a spy for Naraku, and that she..."  
  
Inuyasha saw red. "SHUT UP! If it weren't for her, I would have DIED on my first day! You have no idea what you are talking about. I assure you, she can be trusted."  
  
"Gomen, Inuyasha. I was just worried that..."  
  
"Well, don't," the hanyou interrupted. "Just trust me, as I trust you both to get here. You can all meet each other then. She's a great girl. I'd bet she'd get along with Sango."  
  
'You have no idea, Inu-chan,' Kagome thought as she heard Miroku say, "Hai, Inuyasha. Sorry."  
  
"Don't sweat it. Do you have any idea when you could possibly catch up?" asked Inuyasha.  
  
"In three to five days, I suppose," Miroku answered slowly, measuring their timeframe.  
  
"Well, hurry up. I only have ten days left in Crystallia. I gotta go. See ya."  
  
"Ja ne, Inuyasha," Miroku said just before Inuyasha closed off his amulet.  
  
Inuyasha put his amulet back in his robes before looking over at Kagome. "Oi, you hear that? They'll be here real soon. I don't really know how good those two are with weapons, but a few extra hands is good, ne?"  
  
Kagome smiled at him sadly, which greatly puzzled Inuyasha. "Hai. It's good. I know they are able fighters. I've seen both of them at work before, and I'm telling you, they're good. Besides, they are palace dwellers, remember? They are well-trained."  
  
"Yeah I remember," Inuyasha said before stepping up to her. He realized just how sad Kagome had looked as he stopped talking to the other pair. "Kagome, what is it?"  
  
"Nanimo," she replied. "I'm just worried about Kouga-kun. He still hasn't returned, and I really think that something bad has happened to him.  
  
Inuyasha put his arms around her and tried to calm her down. Truth be told, he was worried as well. Kouga had headed for trouble when he decided to "visit" Naraku, and like it or not, Naraku was very powerful.  
  
"Don't worry Kago-ko. He'll be alright."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Well, how is he, Kanna?" Naraku asked as the youkai of nothingness came into view.  
  
"He is doing fine, I believe. He is a fine addition, Naraku-sama," she replied, looking over her shoulder at a bloody man who stood panting behind her.  
  
Chunks of blood clung to the man's long, dark hair. His claws were full of the same dark substance, and his clothes were also caked by the liquid.  
  
But the fact remained that it was not his own blood that covered him.  
  
Naraku grinned widely as he took in the sight. "Ku ku ku. Beautiful... simply beautiful," he said as he rose from his place on the floor. He swept past both people who were in his room with him to look at the scene outside the garnet tower.  
  
He had called forth a hundred of mid-level youkai and set them against his new minion, trying to see how well he would do. His wide grin turned into a full-blown smirk as he took in the sight of the slain youkai, most of which were badly mutilated. His new "ally" had taken them all single handedly.  
  
He turned back and regarded Kanna and the newbie, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go now, both of you. I believe he is ready to get rid of Inuyasha. But remember, bring the princess back to me, alive and unharmed. Get it?"  
  
Kanna nodded as she turned and headed out of the room, followed by the bloody man. Naraku stopped them before they were out the door.  
  
"And remember to bring Inuyasha's head to me. I want his head. Do you understand me," he grinned, "Kouga? And do take a bath before you head out."  
  
Kouga raised dull blue eyes to his master, before he nodded and left the room.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagura smirked when she heard what Naraku had told Kanna and the ookami. 'Inuyasha no atama? Gods, that's disgusting!'  
  
She turned away from the door as she saw the pair emerge from it. She looked down at Kanna and asked evenly, "Are you leaving now?"  
  
Kanna nodded solemnly as she tried to brush past Kagura, but the wind youkai held her by the shoulder and halted her steps. Kanna turned her mirror to Kouga, who looked momentarily at her before sauntering off, heading for the water hole.  
  
"Nani, Kagura? What do you want?" the childlike youkai inquired, her face as expressionless as ever.  
  
"You are controlling the ookami's soul, aren't you?"  
  
"Hai. I am. Now let me go," Kanna replied before trying to break free of her sister's hold. Kagura would not budge. "I told you what you wanted to know. Let me go now."  
  
"That's not all I wanted to know!" Kagura said evenly. "I wanna know if Naraku has any control over the Shikon no Tama yet. How do you intend to defeat Inuyasha and Kagome?"  
  
Kanna looked puzzled for a moment before she answered. "Kouga will take care of Inuyasha. Once he has killed the hanyou, it will be easy for me to control the hime's soul."  
  
Kagura was confused. "How could you even think that? You have failed to control Kagome before, remember?"  
  
"I just know I can do it without the hanyou. Don't you remember... I had her in my power before he came over. Only then was she able to break the curse. Without him, her will is weaker, and I can conquer her," Kanna replied softly.  
  
Kagura jerked her hand back. "Are you saying that she will be easier to handle without Inuyasha?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Demo, why is that?"  
  
"Those two... they give each other strength. I have to admit that Kagome is powerful all on her own, but she grows more so with him around," Kanna explained. "It won't be easy to control her, but at least, with the hanyou out of the way, it would be possible."  
  
Kagura understood just what she meant, was something was bothering her. "How? How do they give each other such strength?"  
  
Kanna raised her mirror enough to show Kagura what she had shown Naraku earlier. Kagura outwardly gasped.  
  
"You see?" she asked as Kagura's eyes widened. "They are in love. The other is their other half. Without that other, they would be broken... and only then can we truly defeat them."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha sniffed the air in annoyance. Something was bothering him to no end, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. There were no strange scents in the air, the temperature was normal (for Crystallia), and there were no strange happenings whatsoever. So why was he so agitated?  
  
Kagome obviously noticed his distress. "Inuyasha? Nani o?"  
  
Inuyasha shrugged and stared off, trying to see beyond the late afternoon horizon. "Nothing, wench."  
  
"Oh, that was romantic." Kagome replied dryly as she continued to walk beside the hanyou.  
  
He didn't even notice that she had spoken, and that worried Kagome. "Inuyasha, please, tell me what's bothering you?"  
  
Inuyasha looked back at his koi before sighing. "Something's off, Kago-ko. I just can't tell what it is," he said, a thoughtful look on his face. "And I can't even put my finger on WHY I think there's something wrong."  
  
"A gut feeling?" Kagome asked softly. "I'm having one too. But I can't describe it."  
  
"There's nothing to describe. I don't even sense anything wrong. I just get this feeling that... That something bad is about to happen," he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"I don't..." she began when Inuyasha suddenly started. "Inuyasha? What is it?"  
  
"I smell Kouga..."  
  
"That's great!"  
  
"...but he's not alone."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Inuyasha sniffed the air before growling softly. "Kagome, hide. In that cave, quick!"  
  
Kagome looked confused when Inuyasha tried to push her back. "Matte, Inuyasha! What is it?"  
  
"Kouga's coming... but he's got Naraku with him. I don't know what happened, but I know I don't want you here when he gets here. Something's not right..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: There's the chap! I know it's kinda short, but it seemed like the best way to end it! ^_^ And I just had to put in another deadly cliffy, ne? Oooh, I hate myself... I can't help ending chapters like that! I hate cliffies, but I just can't help it! GOMEN!!!! :(( But I swear, I'm not trying to kill anyone! And again, gomen for taking so long!  
  
RESPONSES!!!  
  
Yuppers2003: Arigatou! ^_^  
  
InuKag0008: I'm glad you enjoy my work! You'll read the aff.net version too? Ooooh... thanks! Gomen for the long update!  
  
Justmeh: Congratulations! You are my 200th reviewer! I'm glad you like it. Anyway, this would probably reach 25-30 chaps, so there's still a bit more to go!  
  
Kagome-chan1234567890: I'm glad you liked it! ^_^  
  
Litwolf689: I have a twisted obsession with hurting Kouga, don't I? But honestly, I like him. I just like torturing him, lol! I'm glad you liked the chap, and hey, thanks for reading AND reviewing the lemon! I'm glad you liked that too!  
  
DevilWench: I'm glad you liked it! ^_^  
  
Hyperchica11: Don't worry! I promise, everything will work out! I personally dislike sad endings, and I'm gonna make this work out if it's the last thing I do! Actually, I have the end all planned out now, and I promise you won't be disappointed! And I'd like to say that I am honored for being the cause of your babbling... lol! Though honestly, I like long reviews, and I don't mind at all! You could all tell me your life stories and I'd still be ever grateful! Besides, I ramble a lot myself. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it!  
  
Kawaii-anime-lover1: I'm glad I got you hooked. ^_^ Me, write a book? I don't think that would work... I'm not really that good, but thanks for the vote of confidence! Kikyo? Ugh! I hate her guts soooo badly... she won't be in this fic.  
  
Trina: Mahirap mastranded a. I'm glad you liked it!  
  
BlazinRuby: Hehe... I was feeling kinda angsty then, I guess it reflected on my chap! Anyway, it hurts like a total bitch, I agree. I'm sorry that it happened to you too... I wouldn't want something like what's happening to me have to happen to anyone else. But shit happens, ne?  
  
Blubber: Brilliant? Me? Oh, thanks! And believe me, having your boyfriend go hurts millions of times worse than having your dog die. And I know because I just lost my dog a few months ago! SPARKY!!! Why did you have to die?!  
  
LiL-Kagome: I'm glad you like my story so much! One of your favorites? I'm honored, honestly! Thanks! Here's the chap!  
  
Charlene: Hi friend! Glad you liked my tribute chapter! Hey, thanks again.  
  
Sukuri: I do the same thing - copy and paste on word, so I don't use up the internet too much. I have a time limit, lol! Anyway, I wrote the alternate chap for the lemon non-readers. I know the stuff used to irk me too... Hey, are you from Hawaii? Cool! From what I heard, Hawaii has great surfs. I wanna get there someday! Man, I LOVE swimming!  
  
Dragonstar03: Glad you like it. Fictionpress? What's that?  
  
Hanamaru285: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!  
  
TheWraith1: My fave is You're Still You. Oh, his voice (swoons)! I love Josh Groban! Anyway, my boyfriend isn't breaking up with me. He's just going off to Canada for his education. OUCH! I am sooo gonna miss him. We'd still communicate though, through the phone and the internet. Teletubbies? *shudders* My baby bro watches that crap, and those homosexual freaks give me the creeps. You once asked about Kagura and Kanna, ne? Well, I now know what I want to do to those two as this fic ends. Oh cool, a new IY story! What's it about? Who's rejecting who? AAAH! I'm curious...  
  
Krishna Faye: I'm glad you like my fic! Thanks! ^_^  
  
Jesse The Wolf Demon: Oh, it's not irritating at all! Would you believe I actually like Kagura? And anyway, they'll end up together, and Naraku will die painfully and slowly, that I can assure you! Miroku and Sango will catch up soon, too!  
  
So, there. That was the chap. Gomen again for taking ages. I swear, the next update won't take as long as this because my classes are finally over. I have a whole month free! And besides, I just turned 18 last October 1. I am now a legal adult, and I feel soooo inspired to write stuff, I'm gonna keep typing til all my fingers are sore!  
  
Anyway, til next time, minna! Thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapters, and PLEASE, read and review this chap! I wanna know what you all think of this!  
  
Arigatou! Ja ne!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	23. Her True Identity

A/N: Hello! I'm back! Hehehe... I didn't take too long this time, did I? Gods, I love semestral breaks! It's one of the very few times when I start feeling like a human again. ^_^  
  
The only thing that I don't like about this break is that my boyfriend had actually left for Canada already. T_T He just left last Sunday, and I miss him already. Shit, this hurts like such a bitch! I've been feeling kinda down, and when sad, I tend to look for outlets. Luckily, writing is my favorite outlet, so I get to update faster! Yatta!  
  
And I believe that this is the chapter that most of you have either been waiting for or realy dreading (hint, hint). Check the chapter title and you'll see what I mean.  
  
Anyway, on with the chap. ^_^ Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, that won't be good. I would have messed the plot up REAL bad, and nobody would be writing fanfics on it coz it won't have had any fans.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Her True Identity  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Kouga-kun? Why would he be with Naraku? He hates him!" Kagome asked in panic as Inuyasha pushed her to the direction of the cave.  
  
"I told you, I don't know! Just do as I say, Kagome! Onegai, I want you safe," Inuyasha pleaded with Kagome as she tried to peer behind him at the rapidly approaching twister made by Kouga.  
  
"Alright. But you have to promise not to get hurt in any way! And don't kill Kouga-kun. Don't deny it, Inuyasha. I know you want to shred him," Kagome replied worriedly as she backed into the cave. Inuyasha nodded and gave her a small smile, before giving her a slight push in the right direction. She turned and began to run to the safe haven.  
  
"And don't leave that cave, no matter what happens!" he warned, before turning around and facing the direction of the coming danger.  
  
Kouga was coming fast, the scent of Naraku approaching just as quickly. Inuyasha could have sworn that the scent was coming from Kouga himself. He placed a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga, ready to pull it out at the slightest indication of danger.  
  
The blue cloud of dust was but a few meters away from him now, and Inuyasha felt his heart start to pound loudly in his chest. Something tells him that something was horribly wrong with the wolf youkai.  
  
Kouga's cloud slowly subsided as he stopped a few feet in front of him. When the dust cleared, Inuyasha noticed that Kouga had in his arms a childlike youkai who held a mirror before her chest.  
  
"Kouga," Inuyasha began as he slowly took in the sight. The ookami put the child down, making her stand right beside him as he turned and glared at Inuyasha. The hanyou blanched slightly, looking at the familiar white youkai that stood before him, looking for all the world like she was asleep with her eyes open.  
  
Then it clicked. 'This is the bitchy kid that tried to control Kagome,' he thought angrily, glaring at Kouga. No wonder he could smell Naraku. Kouga had his minion with him. "Oi, ookami! What the fuck are you doing with that kid?"  
  
Kouga continued to glare at him, baring his fangs as a growl left his lips. Inuyasha arched an eyebrow when Kouga didn't answer. He clutched the hilt of Tetsusaiga firmly, preparing to pull it out if need be.  
  
Kanna stepped behind Kouga as the prince took a small step forward. Kouga spoke in a low, hollow voice, his tone full of anger and malice.  
  
"Inu... yasha... teme... you took her from me..."  
  
Inuyasha took a step back in surprise, tightening his hold on the Tetsusaiga. 'How did he...?'  
  
"Oi! What are you talking about, wolf?" he shouted at the seething youkai, praying to all the gods he knew that Kagome would heed his warning. Things didn't look good.  
  
Kanna stepped a bit to the side, out of Kouga's shadow, showing him her mirror. Or rather, WHO were in her mirror. It was an image of him and Kagome, the morning after they shared their bodies for the first time.  
  
He gasped in surprise, embarrassment and anger. What shocked Inuyasha was not the thing that he saw in her mirror, for he knew well that it had happened, but the fact that she managed to peer into such an intimate, personal thing. Then there was anger...  
  
"How dare you intrude into my personal life," he said in a dangerously soft voice.  
  
Kouga just glared at him, cracking his knuckles as he took a step forward. "I saw her first..." he said slowly, much to the confusion of the hanyou.  
  
"What do you mean you "saw her first"? You kidnapped her from me, remember? If any thing, *I* saw her first!" Inuyasha yelled back, taking a menacing step forward. Both youkai bared their fangs at each other, murder in their eyes.  
  
"Listen ookami," Inuyasha began. "I thought you were sensible enough not to bear a grudge about this! I trusted you enough to let you go and find that fucking antidote, knowing her life was in your hands! I can't believe you would side with that bastard Naraku just for this!"  
  
Kouga kept glaring. "She's mine, hanyou. She's been mine before you even knew about Crystallia!"  
  
Inuyasha looked at him incredulously. 'What is this bastard talking about?!'  
  
Kagome was in the cave, watching and listening intently to the exchange. Kouga was saying crazy things... what exactly did he mean? He didn't seem to be himself. He wasn't even calling Inuyasha "inukkoro"!  
  
"You have no idea," Kouga said breathlessly. "You have no idea what hardships I went through to prove myself worthy of her... you... how dare you just waltz in here and claim her!"  
  
Kagome's breath caught in her throat. 'What did he say?' she thought in shock as she saw Inuyasha begin to get really annoyed.  
  
"You fucking bastard!" he yelled. "I protected Kagome to the best of my abilities since the day I met her! You have no right to say that I don't have a right to her! She's mine, got that?!"  
  
"You're wrong, hanyou! You don't deserve her! She belongs to me!"  
  
Kagome's mind was spinning. Something about the way Kouga speaks... was so familiar.  
  
- Flashback -  
  
"Naraku, can't you see? Crystallia is dying! I... I need to get back to my duties!" she cried out pleadingly, her tearful eyes looking imploringly at Naraku. He stood right outside the dome, sitting calmly on the floor. He did not look at her, but simply listened to her pleas and interrupted her every once in a while.  
  
"I told you before. I do not love you, Naraku. And even if I did, love is a luxury that I will never be allowed. Let it go, Naraku. Let ME go! I beg of you..."  
  
"Your pleas are useless, Azalea. I would only let you go if you agree to be mine," Naraku stated calmly, making her blood rush to her head in frustration.  
  
"But I don't WANT to be your wife, Naraku!"  
  
The man turned to her slowly, locking her eyes with his in a painful stare. He gingerly touched the dome, as if wanting to hold her face, as he seriously gazed into her gray/blue eyes.  
  
"I will not let you go without my prize, hime," he said t her with burning eyes. "You have no idea what hardships I went through to prove myself worthy of you. I sold my *soul* just to be able to hold you, Azalea."  
  
"If you truly love me," she said severely, beginning to lose her patience with his spiteful, continuous insistence. "You would let me go and do what I wish to do. To do what makes me happy..."  
  
"You are not happy with being princess!" he shouted, pulling his hand back and forming a fist. "You think I could not see how you look whenever a pair of husband and wife walks into the palace? You envy them. You want to have someone to share your life with, and I am the only one who could touch you! I am the only one who deserves you! I..."  
  
"I do not CARE!" Kagome/Azalea shouted, her long-trained patience gone. "You're right... I DO want to have someone... And I don't care what you went through! Because frankly Naraku," she seethed, glaring right at his scarlet eyes. "Frankly... no matter how lonely I am... no matter if you were the only person in Crystallia... I would rather live a thousand lonely lives over than to be with YOU!"  
  
Naraku drew back as if he had been burned. "Azalea..."  
  
"Azalea-SAMA! Call me by my title! Any person who wishes harm upon my land and friends is no friend of mine!" she yelled, pounding at the dome with clenched fists. She began to unconsciously release a strong, bright cloud of reiryoku that was so thick, it shielded her from his view.  
  
Naraku had grown deathly silent. He approached the dome again slowly, placing his palms flat on the barrier. "Listen," he said softly, his eyes boring into hers. "You are mine, Azalea. You are mine, and no one would say otherwise," he paused, then, "You belong to me."  
  
- End Flashback -  
  
"Oh gods," Kagome murmured as she realized what was happening. She cried out when she saw both youkai suddenly lunge at each other in a flurry of punches, kicks, and curses.  
  
Inuyasha threw a frenzied punch at Kouga, snarling when the wolf easily dodged him. He pulled Tetsusaiga out of its scabbard, transforming it into the huge, steel-cleaving fang.  
  
He took a mad swing, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the white youkai - Kanna, was it? - was watching them with little or no interest, her eyes trained solely on Kouga. He thought it strange, but before he could ponder any further on that, Kouga kicked a large chunk of dirt into his face, temporarily blinding him.  
  
Inuyasha cried out, scrubbing furiously at his burning eyes, before he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He opened his eyes against the sting of the dust, the edges filling with moisture as he tried to see his opponent.  
  
He could only see smudges of color here and there. Everything was blurry, and he lifted a hand to his abdomen, cringing when he touched the painful, wet part of his torso.  
  
'Shit,' he thought, lifting his hand to his nose to make sure. Sure enough, it was blood.  
  
His vision slowly cleared, allowing him to see Kouga. The wolf was standing a few feet before him, grinning madly, a blood-stained dagger in his hand. Inuyasha braced himself on Tetsusaiga, plunging part of the sword into the ground to help support his weight. He was swaggering slightly, his vision going blurry as he tried to glare at Kouga.  
  
"You cowardly, traitorous bastard," Inuyasha hissed angrily at his sneering opponent. Kouga rushed at him, but Inuyasha's painful wound was making it hard to move away.  
  
The wolf was practically upon him when he saw a glittering streak of pink energy fly swiftly his way. The shaft of light pierced through Kouga's right shoulder, making him cry out and drop the dagger he had been holding. H retreated back to where he stood just a few moments ago, and Inuyasha realized what had shot at Kouga.  
  
'Hama no ya,' he thought in a daze. 'That was Kagome's spirit arrow!'  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
Sure enough, he heard her voice call out to him as he slowly slumped down, still relying on Tetsusaiga to try to keep himself up. She was by his side in a second, looking concernedly at him as she kept an arrow notched up on her bow.  
  
"What are you doing here? I told you to stay put in that cave!" he snarled. She ignored him.  
  
"Daijobu, Inuyasha?" she asked, glancing over at where Kanna now stood by the wolf.  
  
"I-iie," Inuyasha replied. "That slash," he tried to explain hurriedly. "Wounds don't usually affect me like this but now..."  
  
"It's Miasma, Inuyasha. I'm sure it is," Kagome said as she knelt down and put her weapon by her knees. "Stay still. I'm gonna heal you."  
  
Kagome, unlike Inuyasha, didn't need to have to touch every single part that had been infected. Having mastered her abilities, she simply raised her hands and began to concentrate. She closed her eyes and put her hands over his wound, a soft light surrounding her as she summoned her reiryoku into her hand to purify the poison and try to heal the wound.  
  
She let out a soft groan when she had finished. She managed to completely purify the miasma, but it took longer to heal wounds, so all she managed to do was close it up to the point that it no longer bled out.  
  
"Thanks," Inuyasha muttered as he got up. He turned to face Kouga, pulling out the Tetsusaiga as he told Kagome to go back and hide in the cave.  
  
"No. Inuyasha, I came out to tell you something. I think... I think Kouga- kun is being possessed," she said hurriedly, pulling at his sleeve to gain his attention.  
  
Inuyasha glanced back at her. "How do you know that?"  
  
Kagome hesitated. "The way he speaks... haven't you noticed? That's not Kouga-kun! It's Naraku, speaking through Kouga!"  
  
The hanyou looked back at Kouga and Kanna, and noticed for the first time the thin wisp of smoke that hung from Kouga's neck to the mirror's edge. "You're right. But how does that help?"  
  
Kagome paled. "It doesn't. If anything, it complicates things. It wouldn't be right for you to hurt Kouga over things that he has no control over!"  
  
And as much as Inuyasha hated to admit it, the wolf had sort of become his ally when he had agreed to find the antidote for Kagome. He wouldn't hurt Kouga if it was not his desire to hurt him and Kagome. After all, he may well be suffering as he watches his own body move and speak against his will.  
  
"It's Naraku that's doing this," Inuyasha said angrily. "Kagome, how much further are we from the garnet tower? Do you know?"  
  
Kagome looked thoughtful. "Less than a hundred kilometers, I guess. We would reach it in five days. Doushite?"  
  
Inuyasha tensed, and she realized that Kouga had just managed to stand up once again. "It's Naraku that I have to get to. But I can't do that with Kouga in the way."  
  
"We have to get past Kouga," she replied, notching up an arrow once again. 'Naraku is really riled up. He's probably furious that I chose Inuyasha,' she thought in agitation.  
  
"What do you mean, WE?! You get back into that cave right now!" Inuyasha shouted when he saw Kagome prepare to attack.  
  
"No damn way, Inuyasha! I am not leaving you alone in this! You go stall Kouga, and I'll cut off Kanna's control over him. I'll be fine, Inu-chan!" Kagome replied impatiently as Inuyasha started to retort again.  
  
"Alright, but you be careful, you hear me?!"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
Both turned away from each other to face their opponents. Kagome ran over to where Kanna stood holding her mirror up as Inuyasha lunged for the approaching Kouga.  
  
Inuyasha let out a furious yell as he swung Tetsusaiga towards Kouga. He didn't really intend to hurt Kouga, but what better way to stall him than to keep hitting and missing? He knew that Kagome had a plan. He just hoped that she carried it out before something bad happens.  
  
Kagome, on the other hand, was aiming a charged arrow at the mirror that Kanna held. The young youkai simply looked at her with her usual blank stare and spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.  
  
"Fire, and you ill regret it."  
  
Kagome seethed at the arrogance the child had displayed with her soft words. "Oh, I assure you that I won't, Kanna. Let Kouga go!"  
  
Kanna continued to stare at her in silence, and it was pissing Kagome off. "Let him go if you don't want to see your precious mirrors in pieces!"  
  
But Kanna looked at her calmly and replied in a chilling voice, "Break my mirror, and you break your brother's soul..."  
  
Kagome nearly dropped her bow. "My brother's... leave my brother out of this!" she cried in anger, stringing the arrow once again. "Naraku had killed him, in case you don't remember!"  
  
But the youkai just looked at her as she turned her mirror a bit to the side. A strong flash of light graced the mirror's face, and when it cleared to show the image it now held, Kagome choked back a gasping sob.  
  
"Niichan..."  
  
Tears began to form around the corners of Kagome's eyes as she took in the face of her late brother. It was him... the same unruly brownish black hair, the same mouth, the same eyes - eyes that seemed to be closed in sleep. She could only see his face and upper chest in the mirror, and she bit back a sob as she continued to stare into the mirror.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Miroku held the book of the Holy Prophecy tightly in his hands as Kirara flew across the dull midmorning sky. The book had been in Sango's furoshiki, and she was presently tying the bag closed as the houshi frantically scanned its pages.  
  
They had been flying with their usual pace when the monk suddenly reared up and hurriedly asked for the book. She had asked what was the matter, but he simply shook his head and told her that he would tell her as soon as she gave him the book.  
  
"Miroku-sama? What is it?"  
  
The said houshi kept reading, furrowing his brows at certain intervals. "Shit," he said softly, but it was loud enough for Sango to hear, and that surprised her. He never swore!  
  
"Sango," he finally regarded her. "The sudden weather shifts have been bothering me. Not just that, but if you haven't noticed, many things have gradually been becoming unstable as we travel. And I can also feel shifts in the aura of the Shikon. I can't explain it... something is happening to the Shikon, and it is not Azalea who is spurring it. I have been thinking, and I finally realized that something must have happened to either the princess or the Shikon. I know that Azalea-sama is strong, but I worry that something may have swayed her to perhaps give Naraku some of her powers..."  
  
"Aza-chan would never do that!"  
  
"I know!" Miroku butted in. "I know, but what if Naraku held something up for her that she couldn't resist? Something that had to do with the fate of the entire land? Or..."  
  
Sango looked worriedly at him. "Or what?"  
  
Miroku gazed seriously at her, and had the situation not been so serious, Sango would have found herself melting. "Did you know that the guard Souta- san and Azalea-sama are brother and sister?"  
  
Sango looked at him in surprise. "Why, of course I know. How did you know?"  
  
"They had shouted each others appellations before Souta-san died."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Anyway," Miroku interrupted before they went off track. "I asked so suddenly for the book when I realized that there was definitely something changing in here because I had a theory. And upon reading the scriptures, if I am right..."  
  
"Miroku-sama, what are you talking about?"  
  
"The book says that the garnet tower's highest peak is used as a temporary haven for the souls of the dead. And when Naraku managed to control the forbidden power, it means that he is now able to control anything and everything that ever goes on in the palace."  
  
Sango paled. "Do you mean that... Oh gods, Souta-san's soul!"  
  
"Exactly," Miroku replied in concern. "If Naraku couldn't get what he wants from the hime, he could very well take the souls in the tower, Souta-san's included, and hold them in peril in exchange. And knowing Azalea-sama..."  
  
"She may yield even without her brother's soul, but with Souta's in there, she would be more easily swayed," Sango said in panic. "Oh, Miroku-sama! What can we do!?"  
  
"I have no idea," Miroku replied. "All we could do for now is hurry as much as we can. I can sense the change in the Shikon as we speak... My houriki is strongly connected to the princess' reiryoku, and right now, her power is flaring out of control."  
  
Miroku paused as he took in the now brightening sun. The sudden heat blinded him for a moment, and he took a deep breath before speaking.  
  
"I just hope that Inuyasha is alright."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"What have you done to him?" Kagome yelled as the tears finally fell from her eyes. She could see thin wisps of soul in the background of the mirror and immediately realized something. "Why do you have his soul?!"  
  
Kanna looked impassively at her, cocking her head to the side. The sun suddenly dimmed, and Kanna's mirror seemed to shine more iridescently than before.  
  
Kagome stared, almost as if she were hypnotized. She didn't notice when the light began to go brighter again, and neither did she notice the soft sound of footsteps behind her.  
  
She only noticed the footsteps when the one who made them came up behind her and covered her mouth with his hand.  
  
"Guess who, hime," said the voice. Kagome didn't need to turn around to know who it was.  
  
'Naraku...'  
  
He took his hand from her mouth and slowly trailed it down her right arm to her hand. He snaked his other arm around her waist, pulling her up closer to him. Kagome furiously pulled away from him, wiping her face where his hand had touched her lips.  
  
"What do you want now, Naraku?" she asked in anger, distantly hearing Inuyasha shout her name. She didn't dare take her eyes off Naraku as she saw her koi approach her out of the corner of her eye.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha snarled loudly as he dodged yet another one of the ookami's attacks. "You are making me lose my fucking patience, Kouga!" he yelled angrily as Kouga skidded on the ground, only to come barging at him once again.  
  
Inuyasha had wisely managed to stir Kouga away from his poisoned dagger. He ducked another kick, absently noticing that the sun's light had suddenly waned.  
  
Inuyasha took great advantage of the dark. Kouga, what with his half-minded state, did not seem to be as sharp as he usually was. Inuyasha landed a swift, powerful roundhouse to the wolf's abdomen, before slamming the flat of the transformed Tetsusaiga onto his face.  
  
When the light returned, it revealed a happy hanyou standing over an unconscious Kouga. He grinned, then turned to look at where he knew Kagome and Kanna were. His grin immediately melted when he saw who was with Kagome.  
  
"Naraku..." he snarled as he watched Kagome push away from the man. 'That fucking pervert had his hands all over Kagome again!'  
  
"Kagome!" he yelled, calling for her attention. She was staring daggers at Naraku, and Inuyasha hurriedly ran over to where they were.  
  
He reached Kagome's side in a second, and he took her hand in his, pulling her behind him. "What do you want now, Naraku?" he questioned angrily. "I thought I told you to keep your hands off Kagome!"  
  
Naraku smiled eerily, and Inuyasha's blood reached the boiling point. 'This man... this youkai is the one I have to kill to get my quest over with. If I kill him now, I can get back to my home with Kagome.'  
  
"Kagome, eh?" Naraku asked, holding up a thin white bandage. Kagome's wrist binds. Kagome gasped loudly from behind him and Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her, noticing that she had suddenly stiffened.  
  
"Nani, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome was tightly clutching her unbandaged right wrist with her left hand, desperately holding onto as much skin as she could. It looked almost as if... almost as if she were trying to hide her hand.  
  
"Now, now, *Kagome*," Naraku said mockingly. "Why don't you show Inuyasha your little secret? Lovers should never keep things from their partner, now should they?"  
  
Kagome seethed at Naraku from behind Inuyasha. "Bastard," she replied angrily.  
  
"Come on, Kagome," Naraku chided her softly. "Why don't we all have it out on the open now? You have kept it secret from him for so long. I believe Inuyasha has a right to know who you REALLY are, aren't I right, hanyou?"  
  
Inuyasha gave her a strange look, before warily turning to Naraku. "I trust her, Naraku. I know you're bluffing. Kagome would NEVER lie to me!"  
  
"Honto?"  
  
"Hai! I trust her Naraku, and even if you told me that she were your minion in disguise, I wouldn't believe you!" Inuyasha snarled angrily.  
  
"Well then... tell me, hanyou... who exactly is Kagome?"  
  
Kagome clutched his haori with her right hand, her left still furiously clutching at the unmasked wrist. "Inuyasha... onegai... don't let him make you hate me..."  
  
Inuyasha gave her a strange look. "Kagome, I could never hate you..."  
  
"Never, eh?" Naraku snickered. "What if I told you that Kagome... oh, right, that's not your real name, is it?"  
  
Inuyasha glared at the youkai. "Don't you dare imply that Kagome has been a liar!" He glanced back at Kagome, expecting to see her wearing an angry, incredulous look at Naraku's accusation. But Inuyasha was totally blown away when he saw Kagome looking teary-eyed, biting her bottom lip in agitation. "Kagome?"  
  
Naraku let out a loud, maniacal laugh. "I told you! Can you just see the guilt in her eyes?"  
  
"Kagome," Inuyasha turned to her, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Kagome cast her eyes down, still worrying on her bottom lip.  
  
"Come now, Inuyasha!" Naraku laughed. "Surely you have noticed how averse she is to shedding that little bandage! Have you never thought that perhaps, she was hiding a mark behind those bandages?"  
  
Inuyasha glared briefly at Naraku before turning back to Kagome. "Kagome, why are you acting like this?" Inuyasha asked in a slightly hurt voice. "Is he... telling the truth? Kagome..." He pulled her face back towards him, forcing her gaze away from the ground to his own worried face. "Kagome, please answer me."  
  
"Poor, poor Inuyasha!" Naraku gloated. "You've been on a wild goose chase all along because of her! You've been chasing all around for the princess all this time haven't you? And your wonderful guide didn't even bother to tell you that the princess is no longer being held captive in the Garnet Tower!"  
  
Inuyasha didn't take his eyes off Kagome the whole time. "Kagome? Was that true? Did you know all that?" Kagome remained silent, slow tears making their way down her cheeks.  
  
She looked up at him slowly, stroking his cheek with her right hand. "I... I meant to tell you sooner..."  
  
Inuyasha pulled away slightly. "You mean...?"  
  
"Yes," she replied, tears racking her tiny frame. "I knew..." she clenched her eyes shut. "Please don't hate me..."  
  
"And that's not all," Naraku said gleefully. "Kagome-sama, why don't you tell your warrior who you really are? Why don't you tell him where the princess is right now?"  
  
"Urusai!" Kagome shrieked, slapping her hands over her ears to block out the sound of Naraku's voice. That's when Inuyasha noticed it.  
  
Her right arm, which had always been bandaged, was now free of her concealing. On it, smack in the center, at the bottom of the palm of her hand, was a mark.  
  
A glowing, golden star mark.  
  
He pulled her hand away from her ear, and Kagome cringed as he looked at it intently. He knew perfectly well what he was looking at.  
  
"That's right Inuyasha," Naraku said again. "That mark moved down from its place on her chest when she encased the Shikon in this," he added, holding up the glowing Shikon no Tama.  
  
"Inuyasha..." Kagome began.  
  
"Matte," Inuyasha cut her off. "Kagome... what is the meaning of this? Have you truly been lying to me... all this time? Why do you have a star mark?!" he shook her slightly as she continued to clench her eyes, as if trying to block him out.  
  
"Kagome, onegai... tell me..."  
  
"Gomen, Inuyasha. I should have told you sooner..." she replied as she opened her eyes, tears spilling unchecked down her face. "Please... I love you... and..."  
  
"Oh, ho, hoh! This is nice!" Naraku gleamed in the background. "You love him, but led him to believe such false tales about yourself!"  
  
Kagome centered her gaze at Inuyasha, as if trying to pretend that the whole world simply consisted of him. "Inuyasha... Kagome is my given name," she said softly. She held his face in her hands, kissed his lips softly, then continued. "But the name that I should use... the one dubbed by Crystallia and the law..." she breathed in deeply. "My name... is Azalea."  
  
Inuyasha gasped, then pulled both her hands off his face with his own. He held them tightly in both of his hands before choking back a reply. "You're the princess?"  
  
Kagome nodded her head slowly. "Hai. Gomen..."  
  
Inuyasha could hardly believe it. He barely heard Naraku as he chuckled, then it turned to a full-blown laugh as the youkai saw Inuyasha's reaction.  
  
"You... you lied to me?" he asked incredulously.  
  
Kagome continued to cry helplessly. "Yes... but that is the only lie I ever told you, Inuyasha. Everything else... the way I feel for you... Everything else is real."  
  
"You lied to me about WHO YOU ARE! Kagome... why? I trusted you, Kagome! No wait, that's AZALEA, isn't it?" Inuyasha asked, half-angrily, half-sadly as more tears spilled from her eyes. "How could you ever expect me to trust you again?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: *Hides behind pillows* GOMEN! Please don't kill me! I had to do that, because I needed to start some suspense for the next chap. Gomen for that. You must all think I'm a real bitch, but I promise you an action-packed next chapter to compensate for the wicked cliffy.  
  
I know that the scene with Souta's soul greatly resembles that one scene in the second movie, with Kaguya-hime. I just needed it for the situation, and at the time I was planning this story, I hadn't watched the second movie yet. And, I hope that no one minded that I altered the power of Kanna's mirror yet again.  
  
Responses!!!  
  
Senna Weasley: I completely sympathize with what happened between you and Sirius. I know it really hurts like a total bitch, and I hope you're right... that you would get to see the one you love again if you are really meant for each other. By the way, thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my story. Good luck on OUR love lives! ^_^  
  
Junyortrakr: Kouga didn't get to do much in this chap did he? He'll be getting up in the next chapter though...  
  
RavenShadow: Glad you liked it! Miroku and Sango will catch up next chapter. ^_^  
  
Trina: Salamat!  
  
Litwolf689: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I already read and reviewed your new chap of "Wild Magic", and I've got to say I really like it. Oh, and you read my other fic?! Arigatou! I'm gonna be starting a new fic, by the way. I'll be posting the first chap next week. I hope you read that one too. Thanks again! ^_^  
  
Nyah: Somebody told me about the resemblance too, way back when I posted my chap2, I think. I checked it out and, lo, they ARE similar! But I promise that I am doing all I could to make them as different as possible without changing my plans for this fic.  
  
The Literary Dragon: I'm glad you like it! They should be catching up by the next chap.  
  
Jiro: *Sweatdrops and scratches the back of her head* Yeah... Hehehe... They are similar...  
  
Justmeh: I updated! I hope you haven't died from the suspense yet. *sweatdrops* I'm an awfully slow authoress.  
  
liLmissy16: Hi! Salamat sa greeting! Ok lang kahit belated... buti nga binati mo pa ko. THANKS! I'm glad that your keyboard's fine now. Good luck on your term paper, by the way. I hope you get an A on it... Yup, my email add is scarlet_raven1001@yahoo.com. Thanks uli!  
  
karisutaru-chan: I'm glad you like my work! Gosh, you read way into the morning!? I'm like, sooo flattered! And here's the update! I hope you like this chap too.  
  
starry-sky26: I'm glad you like it! ^_^  
  
badboysgirl: I'm sorry about the divorce. It must really suck. I'm glad you like my fic, by the way. I hope you liked this chap as well!  
  
DevilWench: I updated! Glad you liked it!  
  
Dragonstar03: Thanks!  
  
Sukuri: Hehe... gomen about that cliffy. They lifted your time limit? Man, your lucky. Mine is still on, and I've only got 1 1/2 hours (how pathetic is that?)! Actually, I suck at surfing. I get washed out longer than the time I get to stand on the damn board! Yeah, I wondered that as well... so I decided to write it up, lol! And yeah... why doesn't Kagome ever tell him off? You'd think she likes the attention or something. Anyway, here's the chap. I hope you like it!  
  
Hanamaru285: I'm glad you liked it!  
  
deamon fighter: Thanks! Glad you liked it!  
  
By the way, since this story is getting quite close to the end, I'll be starting on a new fic next week. It's Inu/Kag, Mir/San, as usual. I am so in love with those pairings! I hope you guys try that one as well. If you liked this fic, please check it out!  
  
And please note that in this fic, we are now on day 34. Inuyasha leaves on day 42. If anything in this chapter confuses you, please feel free to ask me.  
  
So, until next time, pipz! I hope you all liked this chap. Please read and review! I wanna know what you all think about this chapter. Besides, reviews make me write faster, and I need a lot more speed, wouldn't you agree? Yeah, I know, I'm a terribly slow authoress. I only get to update once a week, ain't that pathetic?  
  
Thanks for reading!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	24. Unbroken

A/N: Hello people! I'm back! Hehehe... took me long enough, ne? Specially after that horrible cliffhanger... Gomen! It's because I started with two new stories, and I had to return to school for a day to claim my class cards. Class cards, AKA college report cards. Creepy.  
  
Damn class cards... the main reason why I haven't updated sooner. I was so out of it after I got my grades! I did pretty well, actually, but one of my professors gave me a grade that I totally do NOT deserve! The grading system goes like this... 1 is the highest, 3 is passing, 5 is the failing mark. And she gave me a goddamn 2!!! I was *expecting* at LEAST a 1.5 or a 1.75, but noooo... she gave me a 2!!! Dammit! It's like getting a B when you deserve an A or an A-. I did sooo well in that class! It's so unfair!!!  
  
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I just love spilling my guts, woes and anger in my a/n's, though I know it's totally inappropriate. I can't help it!  
  
Here's the chap! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Unbroken  
  
-----/---@  
  
"You lied to me about WHO YOU ARE! Kagome... why? I trusted you, Kagome! No wait, that's AZALEA, isn't it?" Inuyasha asked, half-angrily, half-sadly as more tears spilled from her eyes. "How could you ever expect me to trust you again?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha..." Kagome pleaded as her vision continued to blur with tears. "I know it was wrong, but... but I had to do it! I would have told you eventually... Please, listen to me..."  
  
"I still don't understand why you didn't tell me... but for now," Inuyasha then turned back to Naraku. "I shall see to it that this bastard dies... for kidnapping you. Go back to the cave."  
  
Inuyasha was furious at Kagome, but whether he was mad at her or not, he wanted to hear the reason from her. He wanted to know why she didn't tell him... why she had kept it all to herself... he wanted to talk to her.  
  
And no matter how mad he was at her at the moment, he still loved her.  
  
He always will.  
  
Naraku stopped laughing abruptly when Inuyasha turned murderous eyes his way. His golden orbs almost glowed red with his anger, and the evil man could practically feel the short hairs on the back of his neck start to stand on end.  
  
Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga and with a flick of his wrist, transformed it into the gigantic fang. Kagome backed away instinctively, clutching her right wrist with her left hand unconsciously.  
  
"Be careful," she whispered almost inaudibly before turning and heading back to the cave.  
  
Inuyasha heard her though, but did not say anything about it. True, his trust in her had been swayed terribly, and he was fuming at her lack of faith in him, but her words, as always, were comforting. He was glad that she wanted him safe. He would have smiled had the situation not been so darn agitating.  
  
Naraku stepped back and nodded almost imperceptibly to Kanna, who continued to stare blankly at all that went around her.  
  
"Naraku, you bastard. I don't know how the fuck Azalea managed to tear away from you... Now give me that damn jewel," Inuyasha said sharply.  
  
Naraku just stared at him in amusement. "And you think I will do as you say because...?"  
  
"Because I may decide to kill you quickly and painlessly if you do."  
  
"Oh, I'm terrified. I'll give you the jewel in exchange for Azalea," Naraku said, holding up the Shikon no Tama.  
  
"Keh! Over my dead body, kusoyarou," Inuyasha replied heatedly. "She may have been a damn liar but she's still MY girlfriend!"  
  
Naraku stiffened, his scarlet eyes full of icy malice. "She is mine, hanyou."  
  
"Go to hell!!!" Inuyasha yelled as he charged at Naraku. The man didn't move... didn't duck... didn't even bat an eyelash... as Inuyasha slashed right through him.  
  
His golden eye widened as he cut Naraku into two. It was strange... too easy...  
  
He stared as Naraku's white pelt fell slowly to the ground. 'Wait... his pelt?' Inuyasha thought in bewilderment. The white robes fell listlessly to the ground, containing nothing but a small wooden doll.  
  
"What the hell?" Inuyasha yelled to the skies as he watched the small wooden doll slowly burn itself. He looked up to find Kanna still blankly staring at him, holding her mirror behind him. He growled lightly and was about to pounce when something heavy thumped into him from behind.  
  
He flew a few feet away from Kanna from the impact, landing painfully, face- first onto the ground. He instinctively turned onto his back as he felt a presence behind him, and he moved away just in time to avoid Kouga's fist from bashing his face into the dirt.  
  
"Kouga! I thought I fucking decked you!" Inuyasha rallied as he pushed off from his crouch on the ground with his hand, landing gracefully on his feet a few meters away. He glanced in Kanna's way to find that the tiny wisp of smoke was coming from her mirror again, forming a ring around Kouga's neck.  
  
"How many times do I have to deck you to get you out of the damn spell!?" Inuyasha shouted as Kouga lunged at him again. He was NOT in a good mood! 'I find out that Kagome is really Azalea, this fucking ookami is possessed and I can't kill him, and I've still got fucking wound from his earlier attack. Damn, I'm fried!' he thought angrily. He wanted nothing more than to punch Kouga's face into his skull and go shake the truth from Kagome.  
  
'No wait... that's Azalea, ne?' he thought grimly. He dodged another blow, racking his brain for a way to get Kouga back to his senses. 'Kagome is usually the one who thinks of plans...'  
  
Kouga threw a powerful kick in Inuyasha's abdomen, and because of his small distraction with his thoughts, Inuyasha got the full blow. He cried out as he felt the kick bruise quite a few ribs, but kept his balance as he began to stumble backwards. He put a bracing arm around his painful torso, breathing heavily. He saw Kanna still standing with her mirror in his peripheral vision.  
  
He considered calling Kagome for a moment to make her smash the mirror, but thought better of it. After all, she hadn't been able to do it the first time. There was probably a small problem that she wasn't able to handle. 'I just wish I knew why she didn't destroy the mirror!'  
  
And speaking of Kagome... Inuyasha just noticed that in all the earlier excitement, Kagome had somehow dropped her bow and arrows in the middle of the battleground, just a few feet away from Kanna.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome gasped fearfully as she watched Inuyasha take a blow to his stomach. He was obviously distracted, and she had a very good idea why.  
  
Her guilt was eating at her. 'This is all my fault; and if I didn't lose my nerve and just shoot the damn mirror... Kouga-kun wouldn't still be under a spell right now!'  
  
"What could I do?" she mused softly, not tearing her gaze away from the panting hanyou. She saw him shift his gaze to the bow and arrows that rested near Kanna, and his breathing seemed to be growing more labored by the minute. "I'm useless."  
  
She watched as Kouga began to rush at Inuyahsa again, and in his pain, narrowly managed to avoid the attack. 'If I don't do anything, he'll die! Demo... I would have to break the mirror...'  
  
She resolved right then to help Inuyasha, even if it meant breaking the mirror... and Souta's soul. Her brother was dead - she knew that all too well - and knowing Souta, he would gladly give up his life if it were for a good cause.  
  
'Demo... this is his soul!' Kagome thought desperately as she began to exit the cave she was in. 'But if I don't do this... Inuyasha and Kouga will be in trouble. I can't let Inuyasha die!'  
  
She steeled herself against her tears, silently praying to Souta's soul for forgiveness. She knew what she was about to do would make Souta gone from her forever... But she had to make a choice.  
  
She ran swiftly towards Kanna, putting her worries in the back of her mind. 'When I get the Shikon back, I will make it up to you, niichan.'  
  
Kagome ran for the bow and grabbed her arrows from the ground, rolling on the ground as she made a wild swipe for the quiver. She notched up the arrow and aimed straight for Kanna's mirror.  
  
The young youkai's eyes widened ever so slightly, and she objected. "Would you really be willing to destroy your brother's soul?"  
  
Kagome steadied her shaking hands as she took careful aim. "Yes... if it means keeping Inuyasha safe," she said softly. Kanna backed away slightly, and Kagome grinned as she pulled her bowstrings tight, and yelled out as she let the arrow fire.  
  
Kanna was too surprised to move, and the arrow hit the mirror dead on, turning its luminescent surface into a shower of shining splinters. Kagome grinned despite her worry and fright for her brother's soul. 'At least now Kouga will be free.'  
  
And Inuyasha will be safe.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha ducked another attack, landing painfully on his back as he did so. But now that he did land... his broken and cracked ribs were making it entirely difficult to get up. He closed his eyes as he saw Kouga aim straight for his face, bracing himself for at least a broken nose. But... the pain never came.  
  
He opened his eyes and realized that Kouga was now slumped beside him. Inuyasha blinked as he realized that the wisp that held Kouga was gone...  
  
He looked up and gave a soft gasp. Kagome was standing before Kanna, her hand still bent back from releasing the arrow. Kanna's arrow was in splinters, and the small youkai was staring dumbstruck at the princess.  
  
Kagome was grinning, but the tears that stung her eyes were threatening to fall. Her lips moved softly, and Inuyasha strained his ears to hear her words.  
  
"Gomen... Souta-oniichan."  
  
His eyes widened. Was her brother somehow tied to this? Was that why she lied? Was that why she hesitated in smashing the mirror earlier?  
  
Kouga gave a soft groan, and Inuyasha turned to him abruptly. He nudged Kouga in the ribs, a bit too hard actually, and asked. "Oi, ookami. Daijobu?"  
  
Kouga raised dazed eyes at him and uttered a soft "Gomen," before collapsing back into unconsciousness. Inuyasha noticed that Kouga's side was bleeding rather generously, and realized that he must have wounded the guy somehow.  
  
He was taken out of his musings when he felt strong winds stirring the thick dark clouds above him. Kagura was landing, or rather, reaching down to grab her sister and take her to safety.  
  
Kagome was somehow out of arrows, and she shielded her eyes against the dust that Kagura stirred up. Inuyasha rose to his feet, raising Tetsusaiga and firing it up shortly, a small cloud of youki forming around the blade.  
  
"Kaze no Kizu!!!" Inuyasha yelled, swinging his massive sword in the direction of the retreating youkai siblings. Their eyes widened for a moment before the youki was upon them, shredding their clothing in the process as they screamed their pain.  
  
The light formed by the Kaze no Kizu slowly began to subside, and Inuyasha stared in complete confusion as he realized that the two youkai had completely disappeared. 'They couldn't have melted into nothingness,' he mused, but was cut off when Kagome rushed over to him, tears in her eyes and dampening her cheeks as she put her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably into his haori.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she cried, clutching him like a lifeline.  
  
Inuyasha's anger dissipated at the sight of her desperately sad face. 'No matter if she lied to me... I still love her.' He lifted her face and wiped her tears with his thumb and kissed her lips lightly. He then disentangled her arms from around him and gave a weak grin. He held his torso in one arm and led her away from the grounds with his other hand.  
  
Inuyasha paused. "Come on. We have to talk, and you know it," he said. He then looked over and found Kouga lying on the ground. "But first, let's get ookami to safety."  
  
Kagome nodded tearfully.  
  
-----/---@  
  
They had bandaged Kouga in silence before laying him on a secluded corner of the cave to heal, and Kagome had also pulled Inuyasha's bandages tight over his torso to fix any possible dislocations. He had quite a few broken ribs from Kouga's strongest kick, and thought Kagome knew that thought he healed quickly, Inuyasha could still feel pain.  
  
Kagome had bandaged his wounds and torso with utmost care, and he knew that as usual, she was trying to keep him from as much pain as possible. Inuyasha held back whimpers and outbursts of pain as she carefully fixed him up, praying to all Kamis that he wouldn't collapse right in front of her.  
  
Besides, they still had a lot to talk about.  
  
Dammit... at least the wolf was unconscious.  
  
Kagome sat back as she finished bandaging him up, staring down at her knees as she sat with her legs tucked up beneath her. The slowly setting sun cast a reddish glow upon her form from the opening in the cave. She winced when Inuyasha spoke.  
  
"Kagome... look at me, onegai," Inuyasha asked her softly. Kagome just sat with her hands clasped tightly between her breasts and shook her head. Inuyasha saw small droplets fall to the floor as he smelled salt in the air again. She was crying.  
  
"Kagome, please. I wanna talk to you. I..."  
  
"Gomen..."  
  
Inuyasha looked at Kagome as she slowly looked up at him, her star mark gleaming in her hand as she made them rest on her lap.  
  
"Since the day we met," Kagome began. "I have been nothing but trouble," Inuyasha began to object, but Kagome hurriedly continued. "I have always been in your way, getting you into unnecessary trouble, surrendering your sword to Kagura while I was under a spell... I stole your image of Azalea..."  
  
"You stole it?"  
  
She nodded. "I was hoping that if you lost it, you wouldn't figure out who I really am..."  
  
"But Kagome... why?" he asked, his anger slowly returning. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"  
  
Kagome sniffled. "At first... it was because I thought it would be best that you didn't know who I am, so you would let me fight alongside you. I knew that... if you knew I was Azalea... you would not want me in danger. When I got to know you better I began to chicken out. I knew you would be mad that I didn't tell you sooner. And when I fell in love with you..."  
  
Kagome closed her eyes, and Inuyasha could see that her hands were shaking. "When I fell in love with you... I kept it a secret because I wanted to spend my time as Kagome... before I had to return to the palace... with you. I wanted to be a normal girl..." she said softly.  
  
"I wanted to have this time with you... I decided that I could never have you if I were princess, so as long as I still don't have the power, I would let myself be with you. I wanted to keep you, Inuyasha... and your sense of honor would not allow you to touch me if you knew who I really am..."  
  
Inuyasha stared hard at her. "Look at me, Kagome."  
  
Kagome did as he asked, and was surprised when she stared into his intent golden orbs. He was pained... but was that forgiveness?  
  
"Now I know," he began, "Why you were so hesitant to agreeing to go back to my world with me. Why you know so much about Miroku and Sango... about Crystallia. Kagome... I love you! How could you think that I wouldn't accept you if I knew the truth?"  
  
Kagome cried even harder. "I'm sorry... I know it was selfish of me... that I shouldn't have let you love me when you would lose me... I didn't think! I... didn't even pause to consider that you would be hurt too."  
  
"But this is hurting me worse, Kagome!" Inuyasha said gently. "If I had known who you were... I wouldn't have kept hoping that I could keep you until I leave Crystallia. I would have accepted the fact that I would eventually lose you. But you kept me hoping, Kagome! And now... the sudden knowledge that it would be impossible just hit me right in the kisser. I... would have loved you anyway, Kagome. At least the pain of losing you would have been less... because I would have known that loving you meant losing you."  
  
"I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong... Please forgive me!" she cried, bending down and laying her forehead on the ground before him, bowing to him, pleading with him...  
  
"Get up, Kagome. I don't want to see you do that!" he said, pulling her up and into his arms. He cradled her lovingly as she sobbed into his chest.  
  
"I don't know why I even thought that way," Kagome cried. " I trust you, mind body and soul, Inuyasha! I made this mistake because I love you so much."  
  
"I love you too, Kagome. I always have... I always will..."  
  
"Please don't hate me..."  
  
"I just told you that I'll always love you..."  
  
Inuyasha held her tightly, stroking her raven hair in a comforting gesture. This seemed to calm Kagome, and he listened as her sobs very gradually decreased.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said again.  
  
"I forgive you," he said softly as she looked up and stared into his eyes. He cupped Kagome's cheek with the hand not supporting her, then he tilted her head back and kissed her softly.  
  
Kagome eagerly deepened the kiss, her hands roaming his chest, shoulders and back through the fabric of his haori. Inuyasha licked her lips and she opened them promptly, letting him taste her sweet essence as she explored his own mouth with her tongue. Kagome then pulled herself higher and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with his long silver hair as they passionately kissed.  
  
Inuyasha broke the kiss when they both began to run out of air, and Kagome leaned her head on his chest as she quietly spoke. "I'm also sorry that I didn't destroy the mirror at once. It was just that..." he eyes grew teary again. "They had Souta-niichan's soul in it, and destroying it would mean destroying Souta..."  
  
Inuyasha blanched. "Then... did you get his spirit out before you destroying the mirror?" he asked, already knowing the answer as he remembered her tears after she shattered the mirror. She shook her head and he sighed heavily.  
  
"Kagome... you did that?" he asked, tilting her head up again to look into her azure orbs.  
  
"If it meant keeping you safe... I would risk anything, Inuyasha."  
  
"Oh gods, Kagome!" he said, squeezing her tighter against him. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
"I love you so much, Inuyasha."  
  
"I love you too..."  
  
The pair then kept silent as Inuyasha held Kagome in his arms, on his lap, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kouga had been awake through the whole exchange, and he listened in growing sadness as the pair spoke of their woes. 'Inuyasha would have to leave... and Kagome has to go back to being princess. They would be apart inevitably.'  
  
He knew how hard that would have to be, and he felt absolutely sorry for them both. They loved each other... why was it so unfair?  
  
He was jealous, no sense in denying that. But he was also not as dense as he seemed. He knew that Kagome would only be happy with Inuyasha, and being that he loved her, he had no other wish aside from her happiness. And now... even that was to be stripped from her.  
  
He wanted to stop the tears from flowing through her eyes... he wanted to be the one to make it all better... but he knew that the power to make Lady Azalea smile did not lie in his hands...  
  
I lay only within the hanyou who held her so tightly, so protectively as her small frame wracked with desperate sobs.  
  
He smiled in spite of himself. 'At least... she felt happiness... even for a short while.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha awoke, still in each other's arms the next day. Kagome gave him a soft look and a smile before she got up. She had barely left his lap when she gave a small gasp.  
  
"Doushite?" Inuyasha asked as he looked off into the direction Kagome was looking in. She pointed frantically to the place where they had earlier lain Kouga, and he gave his own sound of surprise when he found Kouga gone. In the wolf prince's place was a small bunch of berries and a note.  
  
Kagome picked up the note and read it aloud. "It says...  
  
*Oi, inukkoro!  
  
Arigatou for dressing my wounds up for me. And sorry that I wasn't much help in healing Kagome. But I'd bet you wouldn't have wanted me to have been there when you healed her, ne? You take care of her, alright?! I love that girl, and you hurt her in the least and I'll send the wolves of hell to gouge your eyes out. Ja!  
  
Kouga*  
  
"I guess he's not really mad that I got you before he did..." Inuyasha said in confusion.  
  
"Nope," Kagome said softly. "The ookami are known for their righteousness, despite the fact that most of them actually eat human flesh. I think he understood that I love you..."  
  
"Yeah. But we have one thing we should do," Inuyasha said, and upon Kagome's confused look, he continued. "We should tell Miroku and Sango about you. To keep them from collapsing right off the huge cat in shock."  
  
Kagome laughed. "Oh, you mean Kirara? She's a neko youkai... a nekomata, actually."  
  
"Nekomata... a two tailed cat?" Inuyasha asked. He had never actually seen the cat in person.  
  
"Yeah. Kirara-chan is Sango-chan's pet."  
  
"Oh. Well, what do you think? Should we tell them now or wait until they catch up?" Inuyasha asked, already taking the amulet out of his robes.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Well..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: THERE! I hope this chapter made up for the last one. That was so sad! And I had to end it so horribly, too! At least this one isn't as sad as the last one! LOL!  
  
Anyway, RESPONSES!!!  
  
fetchboy69: Thanks! I'm glad you like my fic. Oh my... I missed a few words, didn't I? Gomen. ^_^ I'll read over my fic and find the ones I neglected to indicate and post their meanings in the next chapter. And sure! I'll check your fic out once I have time! Thanks again!  
  
Justmeh: Took me long enough to let him know, too. Yeah, I was all depressed while writing the last chap, but I kinda like the way it came out. ^_^  
  
A Friend: I'm glad you liked my last chap. And yeah, he's forgiven her, though he hasn't gotten over it quite yet. But like you said, this is INUYASHA we're talking about!  
  
DevilWench: Thanks for the review!  
  
hyperchica11: Yeah... Depressing, ne?  
  
Litwolf689: Don't worry... he'll die eventually. I'm glad you liked the last chap! And about Inu trusting Kag... THAT may take a while. I dunno if I will make Inu go full demon, but if you want to see full youkai Inu in this fic, just tell me and I'll make him go demon, lol! And I don't mind the shouting... a shot of Pepsi does the same to me!  
  
Trina/Paulina: Oh, don't worry! Hindi ko magagawa kay Kag yun!  
  
Sukuri: I'm glad you liked it! Mir and San will catch up in a chapter or two... they probably would next chap if I'm in a good enough mood! You got DSL? Cool! Though I'm not very envious of the treadmill thing... Gah! I hate exercising! Oh, you're not a chicken at all! My friend Josh has never tried it, and he's been to Hawaii tons of times! And the guy's a damn diver, too. I'm glad you don't think I'm pathetic. Anyway, I hope this chap answered your question about Kag's star and powers. And your review is sooo not short! I loved it! It was one of the longest that I got for the chap. Thanks again! ^_^  
  
yupperz2003: Glad you liked it! Sure, I'll check it out... as soon as I get the darn ff.net search to work!!! Damn find button!  
  
starry-sky26: Yeah! Haha!  
  
KrysTheAngel: Of course I haven't forgotten you! I don't really mind that you didn't get to review a couple of chaps... I know life can be totally hectic - I once had to pass three term papers in one day and I was stressed for a whole week. I'm glad you sympathize with my situation. Oh cool, you're Canadian?! Nah, I don't really believe the dumb rumors, but they say that it could get really cold in there. I live in a tropical country, and I don't think EJ is too used to the low Western temperatures. He gets sick easily, and I can't help but worry. Yeah, I hope we could stay in touch til he finally manages to drop by... Anyway, I'm glad you liked my last few chaps, and I'm gonna make Naraku pay for that. You are so right about what characters can make you write. Toilet scene? Sounds cute! I promise to go check it out. Your fic is here in ff.net, ne? Ok... that was a dumb question. I've got to admit, this is one of THE longest reviews I have ever received, and I LOVE IT! Arigatou for taking the time to give me this long review. You didn't bore me at all! Thanks again!  
  
The Literary Dragon: I hope this chap answered your questions. And I had them make up, too! Arigatou for the review!  
  
RavenShadow: I'm glad you liked it! Oh, I could never make Inu reject Kag! I'd be crying my eyes off with that, and I really don't like making myself cry...  
  
There! Did I miss anyone? Hope not! Again, ARIGATOU for reading, and please review! Ja!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	25. Interlude

A/N: Hiya! I'm back! I have got to say that I am totally exhilarated today. Why? Well, I got quite an overwhelming response from my last chapter. I was rather surprised that you guys liked it, because I didn't think that chapter was good enough.  
  
Anyway, GOMEN once again for the huge delay in this chapter. I know... apologizing for late updates has kinda become a routine for me... But anyway... I'm sorry! Tha first week of school has been hectic, and I had no time to write. Damn professors.  
  
On with the chap! Please review! Arigatou for reading! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Ok?!  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Interlude  
  
-----/---@  
  
SLAP!  
  
"Hentai!"  
  
Miroku sat behind a fuming Sango, rubbing a stinging, throbbing red handprint on his cheek as the taijiya huffed with arms crossed beneath her breasts. He didn't deserve that one - honestly! It was all an accident! He didn't really mean to 'compliment her form' this time!  
  
"Lady Sango, I swear, that was an accident! My shakujou had started slipping and I just grabbed it and..."  
  
"And you grabbed my butt instead?"  
  
"Yes... I mean NO! No! I wasn't trying to 'grab your butt'! I was only..." he was cut off as he felt the familiar slight vibration caused by the amulet calling his attention.  
  
"Inuyasha's calling," he said, making Sango look back at him as he fumbled around his robes for the amulet.  
  
"Well, answer him!" she replied sharply, trying to hide her curiosity as she did her best to keep from looking into the amulet.  
  
Miroku cheerfully took the amulet out and smiled into it with his eyes slightly looking over in Sango's direction.  
  
"Hai, Inuya- Oh, gods..."  
  
Sango glanced over at Miroku's sharp intake of breath. She was surprised to see him looking down into the amulet with a look of pure shock written all over his features.  
  
"Miroku-sama? What's wrong?"  
  
Miroku was sputtering in what was absolute disbelief. She began to lean over to look at what Miroku found so surprising when he uttered two words that sent jolts of the exact same shock through her...  
  
"Princess... Azalea?"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Do you think we should tell them? I mean, I am positive that they would be surprised..."  
  
"I know they would Kag-chan! That's why I wanted to tell them. It would probably soften the blow a bit," Inuyasha replied with a small snicker. "Besides, they'll be catching up soon."  
  
"And they'll know then. Should we really break it to them now?"  
  
"Hai," he replied, handing the amulet to her. "Call them. I know you can, and you know how."  
  
Kagome smiled up at him before tightly clutching the amulet. "I DO miss Sango-chan... I think... I really do wanna talk to her."  
  
Inuyasha smiled back. "Go ahead."  
  
Kagome looked down, closing her eyes as she readied herself for their possible reactions.  
  
"Miroku..." she called softly, and the amulet glowed a gentle white as she waited for Miroku's face to appear.  
  
She held her smile as Miroku distractedly answered the amulet. "Hai, Inuya- Oh gods..."  
  
Happy tears began to sting her eyes. She really had missed them... Miroku and Sango were two of her very best friends. She felt Inuyasha place a comforting hand over her shoulder when she started crying upon hearing Sango's voice.  
  
"Miroku-sama? What's wrong?" Sango asked from somewhere off screen as Kagome continued to smile tearfully and Miroku gawked openly.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"NANI?!" Sango asked wildly, shock stiffening her.  
  
Miroku handed the amulet to her, and Sango hesitantly took it from him. Tears promptly filled her eyes as she saw whose face was in the amulet.  
  
"Kagome-chan?"  
  
Kagome smiled. "Hai... I missed you, Sango-chan..."  
  
"Oh gods... Kagome! You're... oh gods!" Sango exclaimed as sobs wracked her body. She moved slightly aside so that Miroku can also see into the amulet, and so Kagome can see him as well.  
  
Miroku was smiling in confusion. "Azalea-sama... how? When? Gods... why didn't Inuyasha tell us?! Everything is alright now, isn't it? Did he just free you? Did he...?"  
  
"No, Miroku-sama. He did not just free me... I am his illusive companion."  
  
"Nani?" Sango asked as she tried to hold in her sobs. "Kag-chan, what are you talking about? How did all this happen? How could YOU have been his companion? Weren't you being held prisoner by Naraku? Oh gods... why didn't you tell me earlier?! Do you know how worried I was about you?!"  
  
"Gomen... he didn't know as well. I just... told him. Gods, I missed you both sooo much!" Kagome cried, moving slightly aside so Inuyasha could also peer into the communicator.  
  
"Inuyasha! What is going on here?!" Miroku asked as soon as he saw the hanyou's face.  
  
"It's a long story. We'll tell you when you get here. How long until you guys catch up?" Inuyasha asked, squeezing Kagome's arm in a vain effort to comfort her.  
  
Miroku blinked shortly. "I don't know. Where are you two?"  
  
"The Second Northern quadrant," Kagome said through her tears. "We just passed the Lalim Ravine about four or five days back," she said a small blush appearing on her cheeks.  
  
'Now what is she blushing about?' Inuyasha wondered. 'Maybe her tears are just making her puff up?'  
  
"Second? Oh, wow! Sango suddenly shrieked through her tears. "Miroku and I are at the edge of the Third quadrant! We'll probably reach you by noon!"  
  
"Sugoi! That's great!" Kagome exclaimed. "We'll wait for you, ne, Inu- chan?"  
  
"Aa," Inuyasha replied. He looked around and found what he was looking for. "There's a cave here. We won't leave this area til you catch up, ok?"  
  
Sango released one last loud sob before smiling brightly and saying, "Take care, Kagome-chan. See you soon..."  
  
"Ee. REAL soon, Sango-chan. You too, Miroku-sama."  
  
"Hai."  
  
And both parties closed up their amulets.  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha stared in concern at Kagome as she closed the amulet, tears still flowing down her cheeks. "Kagome, stop crying, please! Shouldn't you be happy because you've finally spoken to those two?"  
  
Kagome smiled at him. "I am... I really missed those two, Inu-chan. I grew up with them! They were the only ones that I spoke to for the whole six years that I was in the castle."  
  
Inuyasha took a visual sweep of the barren area they were standing on, before returning his gaze to her with a sad smile. "It won't be long now, ne? Once those two get here, I'm sure that it would be much easier to defeat Naraku and get the Shikon back. Then you could get back to your duties and restore Crystallia."  
  
Kagome didn't miss the slightly desperate note in Inuyasha's voice. "Inuyasha..."  
  
"It's ok, really!" he replied with a fake grin. "I'll live."  
  
But he SERIOUSLY doubted it.  
  
Kagome gave her own fake smile. "Yeah. We'll get through this."  
  
They both walked towards the cave that Inuyasha had spotted to await their comrades' arrival, but something was still bothering Inuyasha. "Ano... Kag- chan... Why were you blushing back there? When you were talking to Miroku and Sango?"  
  
Kagome blushed again, much to his surprise. "Ano... I was talking about the ravine..."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Think about it, Inuyasha," Kagome said as she suddenly found her now unbandaged hands extremely interesting. "We passed the ravine the day Naraku abducted me."  
  
Inuyasha thought a bit. Then, he suddenly bristled in anger. "That was the day Naraku poisoned you!" Kagome blushed again. "What was there to blush about?"  
  
"It's not the poison I'm blushing about," she retorted, kicking a dry twig out of her way. "I'm blushing about what happened later."  
  
Inuyasha finally caught on, and he flushed a deeper red than his kimono. "Oh."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Sango was drying her tears in slight irritation. 'I can't believe I just damn cried!' she thought as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. 'Now Miroku's gonna think that I'm a big darn wimp.'  
  
Miroku smiled heartily at Sango. "Sango. What's wrong? You'll be seeing Kagome-sama real soon! Don' be upset!"  
  
Sango pouted. "I'm not upset! I'm just really happy... that she's alright. I've been worried sick about her for the past few weeks..."  
  
"Well, it's ok now. We're just a short distance away," Miroku said, firmly massaging her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. "No need to worry. You can laugh and joke with her again, just like old times!"  
  
Sango grinned. "Hell, you can try groping her again."  
  
Miroku suddenly pulled his hands back as Sango looked pointedly at their slow descent to her bottom. "Eh... he he he... I was only kidding that time, Sango, and you know it."  
  
"Well," Sango replied. "Joke or not, she gave you the SHOCK of your life, didn't she?"  
  
"Oh yes," Miroku said, smiling as if recalling a wonderful old memory. "My hands sustained terrible burns from her. I could not touch anything for weeks!"  
  
"Served you right, lecher. You know that touching the princess is impossible. Her body repels contact from any male through expelling her powers directly into the offender's body."  
  
"I forgot. All my mind could come up with then was how absolutely lovely Aza-sama's form is."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"But Sango," Miroku said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Your form is still lovelier in my eyes."  
  
Sango refused to look at him. No WAY would she let him see her blushing!  
  
They traveled in silence for a few more minutes, but the tranquil setting was broken when Kirara suddenly began growling from beneath them.  
  
"Kirara? Doushite?" Sango asked, leaning down to look into her pet's face. She instinctively tightened her hold on Hiraikotsu, and she could Miroku lifting his staff from behind her.  
  
Miroku looked worried as he felt something amiss in the air. Something about the way the winds moved... just wasn't right...  
  
"Sango... I sense something bad," he said firmly as he realized that an amount of jaki was now hovering about them.  
  
Sango also straightened. "Youkai..." she said faintly, her brows drawing together in annoyance. "Why the hell now?"  
  
"You know Naraku," Miroku shrugged half-heartedly, already knowing from the manner of the attack who had launched the youkai at them. "Should we land? I think they are expecting to give us a good aerial assault."  
  
Sango considered. "It IS easier to fight on land..."  
  
Kirara suddenly dove down right then, heading for level land. It seems she had made the decision final for the still considering pair.  
  
As soon as Kirara touched down, a hoard of youkai rapidly began descending on them, proving Miroku right. Both humans hurriedly leaped off the nekomata and took their own stances, ready to slice some serious youkai hide.  
  
The youkai were upon them in mere seconds, and Sango did her usual flips in an effort to get away from some of the youkai's sharp tails and claws. She released her boomerang with an angry shout, killing not less than five youkai in one swing.  
  
Miroku used the sharp edge of his shakujou in battling, efficiently butchering the youkai and keeping up with the taijiya's exterminating skills quite well. Sango had no time to flash him an appreciative smile as she quickly brought down a pair of extremely ugly youkai, whose large jaws hung disgustingly to their heads, as if it had been incompletely severed.  
  
Sango took a disgusted look at her now slimy Hiraikotsu as she took another mad swing, bringing down myriad small, bird-like youkai that had been about to attack Kirara.  
  
Kirara seemed rather slow right then - she was taking the youkai down with her massive jaws almost hesitantly, with a tired look in her eyes. Sango began to run towards her as she heard Miroku begin shouting.  
  
"Sango! I have to use the Kazaana!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha! Watch out!"  
  
Kagome fired an arrow at the flaming bird-like youkai headed for Inuyasha. Inuyasha flashed her a smile of thanks before returning to his enthusiastic butchering.  
  
They had been walking towards the cave when a large amount of jaki permeated the air, nearly making Kagome swoon with the intensity, while Inuyasha gagged at the disgusting scent that the oncoming youkai brought. The overwhelming scent of decay clung to the youkai, and Inuyasha immediately drew Tetsusaiga before the creatures physically announced their presence.  
  
Kagome knew that her arrows tended to run out at the most inconvenient times, so she did her best to conserve her weapons. Kagome fired round blast of youki from the palm of her hand, and Inuyasha personally disintegrated those that came too close to her.  
  
Inuyasha impatiently willed his youki to come to surface, making it wrap around his weapon slightly as he continued to furiously dice his foes. The demons were REALLY getting on his nerves, and Inuyasha launched a mad roundhouse at one who came too close to get a good blast from Tetsusaiga.  
  
He saw a large snake youkai attempting to approach Kagome from behind out of the corner of his eye. He jumped at it, yelling in fury at the creature who even DARED to plan against his girl.  
  
"Stay away from Kagome, you fucking freak!" he shouted, making Kagome realize what had been happening. He turned his back on Kagome before she could even smile at him, preparing his final attack as he felt his youki get stronger.  
  
"Kaze no Kizu!!!" he yelled, launching his attack on the youkai that had clustered behind him, attempting to pounce. Inuyasha grinned as he watched all the youkai slowly disintegrate.  
  
Upon the aftermath of his forceful last blow, Kagome walked up to him with a shaky smile. "Don't you think it ironic," she began. "For us to be attacked on the same day when we are supposed to meet Sango?"  
  
Inuyasha took a while to consider. "We get attacked often. What's the fuzz?"  
  
"I dunno. It's just that..." Kagome trailed off. 'I have a bad feeling about this...'  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Nothing, Inu-chan. Let's go into the cave, shall we?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Naraku grinned despite the fall that the last group of youkai had just taken. Oh, how he loved bloodshed! The only thing that made him seethe was the fact the Kagome and Inuyasha were now walking back into the cave hand in hand.  
  
Kanna showed a small amount of surprise as she looked down at her mirror. There were things that she saw even if the mirror was not set there. "Naraku-sama. You may want to watch the monk. He is using the void."  
  
Naraku raised a brow before signaling for her to show him the monk. Miroku was desperately calling for the taijiya, his hands on his prayer beads.  
  
Naraku's grin widened. "Now we shall see how he fares with that void..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Miroku watched as Sango ran to Kirara, and he only unleashed his void once he saw her tightly hold on to the fire cat. "Kazaana!" he shouted, sucking in all the youkai that happened to be right before him. He glanced at Sango out of the corner of his eye as he sucked some of the very last youkai into his hell hole, but even from this distance, he could see that something was obviously wrong...  
  
Sango was barely clutching onto a snarling Kirara, but for once, Miroku noticed that the snarl was directed at Sango - not at an offending youkai. Sango shouted something to Kirara, before the neko suddenly flicked her large paws at Sango, sending Sango flying off as she lost her hold on the youkai.  
  
The Kazaana had already grown considerably, and though Sango was not directly before Miroku, he saw her flying towards him, a shout careening from her lips. Miroku immediately tried to pull his beads back before he swallowed Sango, but...  
  
One moment, she was flying towards him... but now...  
  
Miroku looked down, hoping Sango had fallen down before him or something, but...  
  
'Masaka...' he thought. He had closed his air rip... shouldn't she have been there, fallen on the ground after she stopped her mid-air flight towards his hand? Shouldn't she have at least slammed into him as she caught momentum, or... Shouldn't she BE there?  
  
But... Sango was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"No..." he said shakily.  
  
He...  
  
He had just...  
  
Pulled Sango...  
  
His only love...  
  
Into his air rip...  
  
"Gods, no!" he whispered desperately, dropping to his knees. SANGO!!!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: Well... that's it for my chap! How was it?  
  
Oh, you guys, I am sooo sorry if this chapter had been bad. I'm up typing til one in the morning, and I have to get up tomorrow at five to get to school for my seven o'clock class.  
  
Anyway... RESPONSES!!!  
  
DevilWench: Thanks!  
  
UnholyDragoon: Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I read back on my fic a bit, and I realized that I actually DO lack descriptions. ^_^ I'm glad you like my fic, and I'm sorry for the late update!  
  
NR: Yeah, it will be over in a bit. Three days?! Wow, I didn't realize that my fic had gotten so long! I'm glad you like it!  
  
Justmeh: Undrama-ish... cool new word. I'm glad you liked the chap! And sorry for the new cliffy! *sweatdrops* I can't help it...  
  
AnimeObsessionFantasy: Here's the chap!  
  
Trina: Uy! Advanced ka naman masyado!  
  
InuyashaGirlie: I'm glad you enjoyed my fic so much! Thanks a lot for your encouragements! Sorry for the late update. ^_^  
  
Litwolf689: Hmm... now that I think about it... I don't think I can afford to have Inu go full demon anymore. It IS kinda late for that... but I can still try, ne? I had a great Halloween! And... *talks through a mouthful of candy* thanks for the candy!  
  
bebe_kagz837: I'm glad you liked it. Actually, Inuyasha has exactly 6 days left with Kagome.  
  
The Literary Dragon: She's got a new one! I'll explain that further in the next chap, though. I'm glad you liked the chap!  
  
Sukuri: Gah! I hate rain! Rain in tropical countries leaves the ground all hot after the downpour! Anyway, I'm in college right now... I'm an 18 year old sophomore. I'm glad you liked the chap!  
  
Senda: Thanks!  
  
Hanamaru285: Glad you liked it! Here's the chap!  
  
Dragonstar03: Glad you liked it!  
  
KrysTheAngel: I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry to know that you had the same experience as Kouga... but I'm glad you got over it easily! You get the coldest winters and the hottest summers? Ouch... that sounds really hard... Anyway, you wouldn't happen to know how the weather is in Vancouver would you? Hehe... my boyfriend is there, and he never complains, so I don't really know... does it snow in Vancouver? Oh... I've seen snow only once... and I really want to see it again! Sorry for the late update. I've read the toilet scene... I think it's cute! ^_^ And I refuse to think that rambling is a disease... I do it all the time, and I really don't like hospitals...  
  
Guardian Angel of ALL Anime: I'm glad you like my fic! Sure! I'll check out your fics!  
  
Yamiyumetenshi: I can't really do that to Kouga-kun... I kinda like him! But Kikyo... oooh, I would LOVE to burn her! CCS? I don't really know much about CCS, but I'll try to check your fic out! You burned Dumbledore? Aaw... I like that old man...  
  
TheWraith1: Oh, there's a happy ending! And gomen if this chap wasn't too good. I'm kinda sleepy! I hope you still like it though!  
  
fetchboy69: I'm glad you like my story! Anyway, will you be writing other fics? Or are you already? ^_^ I really like your fic... I'll continue all my fics, don't worry!  
  
THERE! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Again, sorry for the delay in this chap. Thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapters!  
  
Please read and review! Arigatou for your time! Take care!  
  
ScarletRaven1001  
  
-----/---@ 


	26. Snared

A/N: *Dodges myriad flying objects set for her obliteration* MATTE! I can explain! *Dodges a ten-foot vase* Wait! I can understand that you guys hated that cliffy, but really! I told you guys I was sleepy then, ne? That just came out of my fingers! So gomen... hehe... didn't mean to make you mad or anything...  
  
Anyway, I'm back to ease the burden of the cliffhanger... Sorry I took so long. I'm typing this up before my Speech report, because I read your reviews and *sniff* you guys are the BEST! Is that good? Huh?! Huh?! Is it?! Oh man, I had waaaay to much Pepsi.  
  
Here's the chap! Please read and review. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Snared  
  
-----/---@  
  
He had just...  
  
Pulled Sango...  
  
His only love...  
  
Into his air rip...  
  
"Gods, no!" he whispered desperately, dropping to his knees. "SANGO!!!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"OW!"  
  
"Gomen, Inu-chan."  
  
Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, turning away from Kagome as she continued to wrap his arm wounds in bandages. He glared shortly at the "scratches" that he received from the youkai, before speaking.  
  
"Kagome," he began.  
  
"Hmm?" she asked, not taking her eyes from the wound she was bandaging.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
The question had been so innocent, and yet... "No. I'm not. I'm getting a strange gut feeling that something bad is about to happen."  
  
Inuyasha looked at her in puzzlement before tilting her head up to gaze into her eyes. "Nothing bad will happen. I promise you. I'll always protect you."  
  
Kagome smiled at him, before leaning up and capturing his lips with hers in a brief kiss. "Arigatou... now stop moving! I can't get to your wound!"  
  
"ITAI!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Sango..."  
  
Miroku kneeled broken in the middle of the battlefield, remains of dead youkai surrounding him. He wanted to cry... wanted to scream... but his throat had somehow gone very, very dry.  
  
He looked down at his right hand, hatred brewing within his very soul. For himself... and for the being who had started this all. 'How could I have been so careless?' he thought angrily.  
  
'I should have been more careful when I saw how Kirara... KIRARA!' he thought suddenly, his eyes shifting to the fire cat who now sat prone on the ground, silent as death. Her eyes were closed, and he could hear her letting out very rapid breaths.  
  
"Kirara... what the hell happened?! Why did you let go of Sango?" he demanded as he walked unsteadily towards the cat. He just then noticed the strange sutra slapped upon the nekomata's forehead.  
  
He went and pulled the sutra off, noticing with a start that the neko's breathing seemed to have calmed a great deal. He lifted the hand that still held the sutra and tried to make out the writing on the spell scroll. But the scroll had been too mutilated to read.  
  
He slumped down on the ground beside the recuperating fire cat, then lifted his right hand once again. "I should just swallow myself in," he said softly, thinking of whether he would be seeing Sango in the void if he did just that. That would sure make up for swallowing himself into a hellhole.  
  
He began to lift his right hand, fully intending on swallowing himself in, when his amulet began vibrating.  
  
'Masaka,' he thought. 'Azalea-sama and Inuyasha are calling for me. Gods... I can't tell them that I managed to somehow... to somehow take Sango into my void!'  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Kagome, he's not answering."  
  
"Shimatta," Kagome said, anxiously looking over Inuyasha's shoulder to peer into the amulet. "I knew something was wrong. Do you think they're ok?"  
  
Inuyasha looked worried. "I dunno. Miroku usually picks this amulet up even during a bath. But now... I don't know. Where did they say they were at?"  
  
"A quadrant behind us, I think. Yes, that's right. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"If you're thinking of going back, then we are."  
  
"Great. Let's go!" Kagome cried, grabbing her pack and heading for the mouth of the cave.  
  
"Let's do this the easy way," Inuyasha said, crouching down in front of her. "Climb on my back. Now."  
  
"Hai, hai!"  
  
-----/---@  
  
It took them quite a few hours, and by the time the pair finally reached the edge of the quadrant, it was nearing sundown. Kagome was anxiously looking around, shouting the missing pair's name every so often, while Inuyasha leapt as high as he could, sniffing around for the barely familiar scents of Sango and Miroku.  
  
"Sango-chan!!! Miroku-sama! Where are you?" Kagome cried, hitching her pack up on her back. She shifted around, her tired legs numb from hanging onto Inuyasha's torso for a long time.  
  
"Where could those two be?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically. He was kinda upset. Those two had looked so happy upon seeing Kagome, he was rather anticipating a happy reunion.  
  
"I don't... Inuyasha! Look down there!" Kagome suddenly cried, upon seeing a large patch of burnt up dry trees. "I'd bet a battle took place down there!"  
  
Inuyasha peered down. "You're right! They just might be there!"  
  
They sped over there at once, and Inuyasha headed straight for the patch that they had seen. After a few minutes of searching, Kagome was just about ready to give up, but then Inuyasha hollered.  
  
"Kagome! I think I see someone over there!" he yelled, pulling Kagome along with him. He ran off, heading for the form, when a familiar scent hit his nose. "Miroku... I smell Miroku!"  
  
"Honto ni?! Inuyasha, where is he?" Kagome shouted, right before she saw a lone form leaning against a tree trunk, right beside a small, weary cat demon. "MIROKU-SAMA!"  
  
Miroku looked up slowly, and Kagome was surprised to find his once sparkling eyes looking dead and teary. Inuyasha rushed over, Kagome in tow.  
  
"Miroku! What happened?" he demanded, shaking the disgruntled monk when he seemed to refuse to acknowledge them.  
  
Miroku just stared blankly at him. Kagome was concerned. "Miroku-sama? What's wrong?" She looked around. "Where is Sango?"  
  
That did it for the broken man. Miroku took one large gulp of air, before breaking down into huge wracking sobs. He curled into himself, hugging his legs and burying his face into his knees.  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other in panic. Miroku was crying?!  
  
"Miroku-sama?" she said slowly, holding his shoulder in her right hand. Without warning, the monk pulled her close to himself. Crying none-too- softly onto her shoulder, Miroku began to mumble what he thought had happened.  
  
"You pulled Sango in?" Inuyasha asked softly, half-hoping the monk hadn't heard. He didn't know much about Miroku's hand, but from what he heard fro Kagome... that wasn't good.  
  
Kagome was now crying softly with Miroku, and the monk pulled back abruptly, as if realizing something all of a sudden.  
  
"Azalea-sama? I can touch you?!" he asked in shock, tear tracks still visible on his face.  
  
Kagome smiled through her tears. "Ee... the Shikon isn't within me as of now..."  
  
Miroku looked surprised. "But... how?"  
  
Kagome then proceeded to tell him of all that had happened since she escaped. Miroku looked surprised. "Does that mean," he began, "That the Shikon no Tama is with Naraku right now?"  
  
Kagome nodded. "It is in the Garnet Tower, but I doubt that Naraku can control it."  
  
Miroku went livid. "Naraku. This is all his fault!!!"  
  
"Hai. We have to go and avenge all that he has killed as soon a possible. And..." Kagome gulped. Maybe we can take Sango's soul from the tower."  
  
All three companions looked solemn, and they all but jumped when they heard a voice suddenly speak up from behind them.  
  
"No need, Azalea," it said, and Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku all turned to find Kagura sitting atop one of the higher trees, grinning widely. "The monk didn't swallow the taijiya. But you still need to go to the Tower anyway."  
  
Kagome was filled with dread. "What do you mean?"  
  
Kagura looked amused. "What else? Naraku has managed to kidnap Sango from right under the monk's nose."  
  
Miroku rose in anger. "What have you done with her?!" he asked.  
  
"Nothing as of now," he youkai said. "But you still need to go and take her from Naraku."  
  
And with that, the youkai flew off in her feather. Inuyasha once again tried to slash at her as she was taking off, but he didn't reach her.  
  
Inuyasha turned just as the youkai disappeared from sight, anger blurring his vision, but his anger was nothing next to the rage brewing within the monk.  
  
Miroku was rather relieved to find that he hadn't killed Sango, but he was enraged at Naraku for having let him suffer in silence all day, thinking of a hundred things that may have happened to his lady love. He clenched his fists, his eyes vowing all sorts of vicious repercussions for Naraku daring to touch his beloved Sango.  
  
'Naraku...' he thought angrily, his hold on the beads binding his hand tightening with every ragged breath he took. 'You're mine, you bastard.'  
  
-----/---@  
  
She opened her eyes slowly, startling at the amount of darkness that assaulted her senses. Her body felt numb and exerted, her limbs aching so much that it was torture to clench her fists. She was laying on the hard, frozen floor. She could not see... she could hear nothing... and the only thing she could feel was the excruciating pain in her body.  
  
"Miroku," she whispered softly. He was the only thing on her mind. She racked her brain for what had happened, how she had gotten where she was right now, but before she could come up with an answer, a strange red light filled the chamber she was in.  
  
She closed her eyes, since she could not lift her arms to shield them. The light was releasing hot, nauseous gas, and her mind reeled even more from the pain that the heat gave her. Then, all of a sudden... it stopped.  
  
The heat just disappeared. She cautiously opened one eye and realized that the light was no more. As she stared in wonderment, she never realized that some of the pain in her arms had subsided, and she slowly, carefully pushed her body up, bracing her torso on her elbows.  
  
She looked around as she slowly forced her body up into a sitting position. When she had managed to sit up straight, she began fidgeting with her limbs, trying to see if anything had been broken.  
  
Concluding that her body was in order, she looked around once again. 'The last thing I remember,' she thought. 'Is being pulled towards Miroku's air rip. Is that where I am? Miroku no kazaana?' She placed her head in her hands. "Where am I?" she softly asked herself.  
  
She totally did not expect anyone to answer.  
  
"Kukuku... you are in the garnet tower, lovely Sango."  
  
Sango bristled angrily at the voice. "You... Naraku! Show yourself, you asshole!" she demanded, pushing her body up, trying to stand to no avail. Her legs still felt painfully numb.  
  
"Stop hiding in the shadows and show yourself!" she yelled, clenching her fists as she heard soft, slow footsteps make their way towards her.  
  
Suddenly, from right in front of her, a small, intense patch of red light appeared, revealing Naraku's smirking face. The light slowly spread, making Sango want to close her eyes, but she did not dare take her eyes off Naraku.  
  
The light subsided slowly, leaving the room shrouded in harsh red light. Sango could just make out her surroundings, and she moved away from Naraku's leering face, which was right before her.  
  
"What do you want from me? You need another prisoner now that Azalea-sama has escaped?" she asked angrily, absently noticing the round gem in Naraku's hands. It had been the source of the strange red light. 'Gods... that gem... is that what I think it is? Impossible!'  
  
"No, not really. I'm here to make a proposition..."  
  
"I don't want to hear it!" she yelled cutting him off. "I don't want to know what kind of scam you want me to enter. I want you to bring me back to Miroku ima sugu ni!"  
  
"So it's 'Miroku' now, eh?" Naraku mocked her, a smirk forming on his lips.  
  
Sango stiffened. That was NOT good, and she just knew it. Something inside her told her that making Naraku see just how much her relationship with the mystic had changed would be to her major disadvantage.  
  
"Now that has just made me reconsider, Sango. Listen to my proposition dearest."  
  
Sango glared at him, her gaze promising all kinds of vicious repercussions. "All I want to do right now is kill you, Naraku..."  
  
"But you can't as of the moment, ne?" He asked mockingly, making Sango fizz in fury. "Listen to me, for I will make this quick."  
  
"Do it now, before I decide to kill you."  
  
Naraku just smirked at her, then called for Kanna and her mirror...  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: There you go! That's it for my last chapter. I hope you liked it!  
  
And OMG! 30 reviews for my last chapter! I am soooo happy! ^_^  
  
Responses:  
  
Dk SoRa'Z-pAoPu AnGeL: Hi Pet-chan! Haha! Yeah, I liked that one too... ^_- Thanks!  
  
EternalDemon: Nope... my real name is Adelle, and I live in the Philippines. ^_^ Glad you liked it! Here's the chap! YEAH, GIRLS RULE!!!  
  
Justmeh: That would have killed the poor guy, ne? Anyway, I'm not that cruel... or am I? *Loony laugh* Here's the update!  
  
ShadowStar666: Glad you liked it!  
  
Ryngrl5: Glad you like it! ^_^ Naraku butt WILL be kicked, don't worry!  
  
Litwolf689: I hope your play went well. Thanks!  
  
BlazinRuby: There are still a few chaps to go! ^_^ Wow, I hope you did well on your tests. God knows how I could have done in mine!  
  
fairyfli: Well, I'm glad I could help with your schoolwork! Thanks! Glad you like my fic!  
  
taijiya-sango88: Here's the chap! No! I couldn't do that to Miro-chan!  
  
Kody leigh: I'm glad you like my fic! ^_^ Yeah, we're doing great so far!  
  
shadowandhawk: Wow... I never realized my fic had gotten so long. Here's the update!  
  
Kohana: I'm glad you like it! Here's the update. And sure, I'll read your story!  
  
Midoriko-sama: *Blushes* Oh my... thanks! Haha! I hope you don't get linched! ^_^  
  
DevilWench: Thanks!  
  
The Literary Dragon: Oh, I have something good in store for everyone, I promise you! I'm glad you like it! Arigatou!  
  
fetchboy69: The phone... hmm, sounds interesting! I think I'll check your profile out again! I;m glad you liked it!  
  
NR: Here's the chap!  
  
Sukuri: Downpours aren't fun where I'm from... the streets always get so floody and I practically have to wear a fireman's suit to get to school in one piece! Oh, my birthday's on October 1, 1985. ^_^ When's yours? Heehee...  
  
InuyashaGirlie: Glad you liked it! Don't worry, I'd never kill Sango that way!  
  
KrysTheAngel: She's still in the game. ^_^ And hey, my boyfriend's gonna come and visit me this Christmas! ^_^ I don't like doctors either... they stick all these weird contraptions into different holes in your body. Eew! I'm glad you liked the chap! Good luck in school, too!  
  
Yamiyumetenshi: NO!! Wait! I haven't killed her! Oh well, I dislike the I'll-take-you-to-hell-because-you-deserve-it-Inuyasha Kikyo, not necessarily the nice old Miko.  
  
TheWraith1: Wow... you're right! About the capture thing, I mean. ^_^  
  
LewdaKris: Wow, thanks! I'm glad you like my story. ^_^ You're from Georgia? Cool! I heard that place is really neat!  
  
Guardian Angel of ALL Anime: Gomen for the new cliffy. Hehe... can't help it.  
  
UnholyDragoon: Hehe... gomen. Oh my... peace?! Glad you liked it though!  
  
hyperchica11: She's out!  
  
Chevere: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! ^_^  
  
AnimeObsessionFantasy: ^_^ Here's the chap! And you better take some throat drops after screaming so much! ^_^  
  
RavenShadow: Yeah, so I made her live! Here's the chap!  
  
Dragonstar03: Oh my, I hope not... Glad you liked it!  
  
Hanamaru285: Oh she's alive! Not so fine though...  
  
There! Did I miss anyone? Hope not. That's it for my chap. Thanks again to all those who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed, and please, read and review! Arigatou! Ja ne! 


	27. Pains

A/N: Hello people! Gomen for taking so long with this chap... I got... well, sidetracked. Two exams a day every other day would be enough to sidetrack anyone, right? And don't think I was idle during the interspersed days... I had oral reports, too. Along with a few case studies... I hate college. And, I just had someone very close to me die from a terrible accident. I just couldn't concentrate on writing so soon after his death.  
  
So, as my heartfelt apology for leaving such a horrid cliffhanger then daring to update so late, here's an extra long chapter, just for you guys! With some explanations, for those who have emailed me with questions and stuff over the long period I was "idle".  
  
Anyway, arigatou to all those who reviewed my previous chaps. Here's the next one! I hope you enjoy this, and please, read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I own a white Labrador named Inuyasha, a black one named Kagome, and a fox plushy named Shippou, along with plushies of the IY gumi, but I do not own the hanyou in the oversized red robes. Damn. Maybe I should go and dress my dog in a red haori...  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
Pain  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha stared gloomily at the night sky, desperation slowly welling up inside him as he watched the moon. It was in its last quarter... meaning that a new moon may be up in a few days...  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome called, distracting him from his thoughts, as she lay a few feet away from him, getting ready for bed. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Miroku, who lay tangled in one of her sleeping sheets, his shoulders rigid and fists slightly clenched. Kirara lay by the opening of the cave, fast asleep.  
  
"Nani?" Inuyasha answered, facing her squarely. He momentarily turned his ears to the monk, relieved at finding his breathing calm and even. He was asleep. "You're worried about Sango and Miroku, aren't you?" he asked her softly, hoping to not wake the sleeping monk.  
  
"Ee. Is Miroku-sama... asleep?" she asked uneasily, and upon Inuyasha's nod, she crawled over to him, taking her blankets with her, and snuggled close to his chest. "Do you think she's alright, Inuyasha?" she asked softly as the pair wound their arms around each other.  
  
Inuyasha stared ahead. "Wakaranai. But I know one thing," he whispered, looking over to the sleeping houshi. "If we don't find her soon, that guy will crack."  
  
Kagome looked ready to cry. "They are in love, I'm sure of it. The way they acted towards each other before all this happened... Oh, Inuyasha, we have to hurry. You only have five days left in Crystallia!" she said, tears spilling as she said the last sentence.  
  
"Four, come sunrise," Inuyasha replied. "We'll get Sango back, Kagome. I promise you that. We will get her and the Shikon no Tama back before I have to leave for my world, I swear to the gods we will."  
  
Kagome then looked solemnly back at his face. "Only five days left, then... before you leave... I still can't bear to think about it. Only five days..." she mused softly, lifting a hand to hold his face as she spoke. "I can't live without you."  
  
Inuyasha smiled softly down at her, wiping the rapidly pooling moisture on her cheeks. "Yes you can. You're very strong, Kag-chan. It hurts, but we both know that we will have to move on."  
  
Kagome smiled sadly up at him. "I'm not sure if I can move on... if I can ever forget..."  
  
"But you must. WE must," Inuyasha said. "And though I know I can never ever forget you... we'll both have to live with it."  
  
"I don't think I can bear to think of you being with another woman."  
  
"It will never happen, so don't worry."  
  
"What are you talking about?! You're young! Inuyasha, I won't want you to forever be lonely just because of me!" Kagome cried softly, nearly forgetting about the sleeping monk who lay but a few feet away.  
  
Inuyasha stared rather sharply at her. "And did you honestly think that I could ever fall in love again after I fell in love with you?! That I could kiss any other after I've kissed you?"  
  
Kagome looked down at her hands that had slightly curled up between her and Inuyasha. "You have to forget about me. You still have your whole life ahead of you. I'll have to go back to my duties, but you... you're a free man..."  
  
"My oyaji once told me," Inuyasha interrupted, "That all people only possess half a soul. It's a curse sent by the gods, for our bad ways, and that we all have to find the other half of our soul for us to ever be complete. My soul has only one partner, Kagome. And that's you. There can be no one else... you only find true love once..."  
  
Kagome snuggled into his chest, wrapping one arm around him. "I love you... I'll treasure the memory of our night together for the rest of my life."  
  
"So will I, Kagome. So will I."  
  
And with that, the couple fell asleep...  
  
And so did the monk a few feet away... who had done a very impressive job at faking sleep.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"So, how's the taijiya?" Kagura asked of her sister. She was bored stiff, and wanted nothing more than a good fight. "Did she agree to Naraku's terms?"  
  
Kanna simply nodded, before turning her mirror to Kagura. Kagura grinned at what she saw, already anticipating a good battle. 'Oh yeah... this should be very good indeed.'  
  
"I think that the three others will be here soon," Kanna suddenly mused, her wispy soft voice flowing calmly from her lips. "They will be here for the exterminator."  
  
"And we'll be ready for them, ne Kanna?" Kagura smirked even as her sister turned solemnly to face her. Kagura was surprised to find a single tear fall from the white clad youkai's eyes.  
  
"I want out of this, Kagura," Kanna suddenly said, startling Kagura even more. "I don't want to be doing this all of my life... will we ever be free of Naraku?"  
  
Kagura stood stiffly at her sister's question. "I don't know. But I don't exactly enjoy putting myself in danger for that bastard. But as of now, you know we have to... we have no choice. If we don't fight, we will die."  
  
"I'm tired of placing Crystallia and myself in danger... I'm tired of bringing pain. I wish... I wish I had never been 'born', Kagura," Kanna spoke so softly now that Kagura had to strain to hear her.  
  
"Yamete! Stop saying that, Kanna! We'll find a way out of this, and you know it! But for now..." she paused from her depressed speech. "I just want something to get my claws on," Kagura said to her sister jokingly.  
  
Kanna smiled up at her. "Ee."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Inuyasha! Hayaku! We have to make the most of the time!" Miroku yelled from somewhere outside the cave, where Kagome and Inuyasha were presently still getting ready to leave. "Aza-sama! Let's go!"  
  
The day had dawned bright and early, just cheerful enough to lift the spirits of the distressed monk, but glum enough to keep him worried. He was terribly worried about Sango, but he knew that with Azalea and Inuyasha's help, he could save Sango. He was also determined not to entirely ruin their day by being a sulky, lovesick whacko about it...  
  
He would smile and laugh if need be, but he would NOT break down like yesterday!  
  
"Shut up! We're coming monk!" Inuyasha yelled back.  
  
"Inuyasha! Gomen, Miroku-sama, we'll be out in a bit!"  
  
Inuyasha grumpily packed Kagome's things back into her bag. He had jumped away from the palate that they had shared for the night as the sun slowly peeped over the horizon, so as not to give the monk any ideas.  
  
Miroku had stayed 'asleep' through it all. No sense in letting Inuyasha know what he heard, now, was there?  
  
"There! All done! Shall we, Inu-chan?" Kagome asked cheerfully, in complete contrast with Inuyasha's foul morning mood. Kirara sat perched on her shoulder, her right ear wrapped in Kagome's wrist bandages. "And you, Kirara-chan... I want you to go back to the palace, and alert them of Sango's kidnap. Have them increase security. And get yourself healed, while you are at it. You took in a dose of poison at that attack. Then, when you are all done, come back and find us, alright?"  
  
Kirara nodded, before jumping off Kagome's shoulder and heading outside the cave to leave. Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "We have to get to Sango-chan. And Naraku."  
  
Inuyasha suddenly tensed at the mention of the name. He instinctively clutched the hilt of Tetsusaiga, his mind coming up with different ways to kill the bastard. Oh, how he wanted to mince the ass into tiny little pieces...  
  
The monk waiting outside was thinking almost exactly the same thing, dreaming up various ways to mutilate the evil youkai. 'I would suck that bastard with my Kazaana, every single bit of him, starting with his genitals. If he even *dares* to lay a hand on my Sango... I don't know if even Crystallia would survive my fury!'  
  
So lost was he in his grim thoughts that he didn't notice as Kirara transformed and flew off back to the palace right in front of him, nor the odd looks he was receiving from his two new companions.  
  
"Miroku-sama?" Kagome's voice broke into his "merry" musings. "Is something wrong? Let's go. We still have to beat the heck out of Naraku, ne?"  
  
Miroku nodded solemnly. "Ah, yes. And I shall greatly enjoy it, too."  
  
"Oi! You do what you want to the tower and everything else, but that sick bastard is MINE!" Inuyasha rallied, much to Kagome's amusement.  
  
"And you believe that we will let you have all the fun? I think not!" Kagome smiled as they begin walking towards the direction in which the Garnet Tower stood. "We all want a piece of that monster, ne, Miroku-sama?"  
  
"I believe we all have a score to settle with him, yes indeed," Miroku answered. "Let us work out a compromise - Let us chop him up! That way, Inuyasha can have his head, Azalea-sama can have his torso, and I can have his hips and legs. Fair enough?" he added with an air of one suggesting what the trio would be having for dinner.  
  
Both Kagome and Inuyasha had to laugh at that.  
  
"Miroku-sama! That would be so brutal!" Kagome laughed.  
  
"Yeah, but I like the idea," Inuyasha nodded enthusiastically after calming down from his laughter. "I'd love to take out his eyeballs, one at a time, then carve his irises out to feed to Kagura and Kanna."  
  
"And I would feed his balls to the scorpions along the Lalim Ravine," Miroku agreed, slapping Inuyasha a high five.  
  
"You go, man!"  
  
"Eew! Is THAT why you wanted his hips?"  
  
"Do you not like my idea, Aza-sama?"  
  
"It's disgusting, Miroku-sama! And onegai, call me Kagome. I don't deserve the name Azalea, not when I don't have the Shikon," Kagome said, which had Miroku looking confused, but he nodded anyway.  
  
"About that, Aza- I mean, Kagome-sama... what will we do about your holy powers?" Miroku asked skeptically. "Don't you think that perhaps... if Naraku managed to control the powers of the Garnet Tower, don't you think he may have had the ability to control the Shikon no Tama as well?"  
  
Inuyasha interrupted at that. "Let's not think about that for now, Miroku. I doubt he'd be able to use the Shikon properly, seeing as how evil that fucking bastard is. But what I want to know... what the hell exactly is this "forbidden power" shit that Naraku is supposed to be controlling?"  
  
"Inuyasha, watch your language..." Kagome softly admonished.  
  
"It's quite alright, Kagome-sama! I have gotten used to his mouth ages ago... I believe you were with him when he was informed about the glitch in the portal? Inuyasha had practically made an alphabetized list of cusses," Miroku said airily.  
  
"Oh, yes! I have never realized before then exactly how many profanities existed in our conscious plane," Kagome said laughingly, at the same time noticing that the monk was greatly evading talking about Sango. He chose his words well enough... he didn't even mention that it was he and the taijiya who broke the news to him. 'He must be really upset.' It was also obvious, especially to Kagome who had known him for years, that his smiles were fake...  
  
"Oi! You guys haven't answered me yet! What exactly is that power in the Garnet Tower?!"  
  
Miroku sighed softly. "It's rather complicated. Kagome-sama? I believe you had best explain this to Inuyasha. After all, you know more about everything about Crystallia than I do. Besides, you're the princess."  
  
"As much as I would love to kill you for that reminder," Kagome said, "You may be right. I'll try to explain this as simply as I possibly could."  
  
Both men looked expectantly at her.  
  
She took a deep breath. She began speaking, in a slightly hushed voice, as the trio continued walking northward. "Ok... First thing you need to know, Inuyasha, is that I, as Azalea," she cringed, "am not the very first ruler. The first ruler of this land, the goddess who created Crystallia millennia ago, is the original Azalea. She had wanted to make a land that was free of all evil. As she created Crystallia though, evil elements still managed to get through. Once she had established her rule, she had, in a way, compacted all evil, both evil magic and malice in people's hearts, and stored it into the topmost tower of the Garnet Tower, a tower that she had solely made to protect her people and the youkai of this land from the evil. A very tiny amount of evil was left though, and that tiny amount alone made its way into people's hearts, and thus, nobody is completely good in Crystallia, but hardly anyone is completely evil, since there is so little malice."  
  
"So... she basically imprisoned all evil? In that tower?" Inuyasha inquired.  
  
"Sort of," she agreed, while Miroku nodded. "That Garnet Tower cannot be opened, cannot be entered. It has a magic seal on it, a powerful seal, cast by Azalea Primera herself," she shook her head. "Until now, I cannot understand how Naraku had managed to open the Tower. But I do know that once the tower has been opened... then the evil power will be unleashed. The evil may make its way into the people's hearts, polluting them... that is why so many horrible things have been happening since Naraku opened the tower. Before all this, all that the Crystallian army had to worry about was invaders from other realms, but now, we have to defend ourselves from each other."  
  
Inuyasha was silent, walking beside Kagome with his gaze intent on her. "If the power is THAT serious, how could Naraku have managed to control it?"  
  
"That, I do not know, Inuyasha," Kagome said, before Miroku interrupted.  
  
"I might," At his friends' questioning gazes, he continued. "Perhaps Naraku's heart had been so full of malice that the tower's forbidden evil had somehow reacted to him... I am not sure, but it's a possible theory."  
  
Kagome considered. "Maybe..."  
  
"It definitely makes sense," Inuyasha agreed. "He could have been so evil, he was evil enough to summon the power, like a magnet, I guess."  
  
"Magnet?" Kagome looked confused.  
  
"A sort of bit of metal that attracts other metals. I don't know too much chemistry and geology, so I'm not sure, but that's basically it."  
  
"Metal? Chemistry?" Kagome asked, even more confused.  
  
"From your world, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You know what," Kagome said suddenly. "We barely talk about your world, Inuyasha. What is it like?"  
  
Inuyasha thought about it, before looking at both Miroku and Kagome. "Definitely not the same as Crystallia. My world was like Crystallia once, though. Probably about five or four hundred years ago."  
  
Miroku and Kagome were astounded, and so the friends then began to dwell on the wonders of Inuyasha's world.  
  
-----/---@  
  
The sun was beginning to set, and the three friends were getting tired and hungry. They had not stopped for lunch, thinking that they would make better time if they did not keep stopping for "unnecessary things". Now they were starving, sweaty, and irritable.  
  
"Inuyasha! Miroku-sama! Mou, I want to REST! Scratch that... I want to eat! Onegai, let's stop for just a few moments! I'm about to collapse here!" Kagome whined at the two men who were steadily walking to the Northern part of the land.  
  
Inuyasha looked concernedly back at her. "You should have said something, Kag. Come on," he said with finality, fixing Miroku, who had just opened his mouth to complain, with a dark look. "We won't do any good if we get there sooner, but exhausted to death. It's better to stop and rest every once in a while."  
  
Miroku grudgingly sat down on a tree stump, surveying the area they were in. It was a barren wasteland, as usual, not quite unusual for the present Crystallia. But something was amiss.  
  
He stood as he watched the sky shift and darken rapidly right before his eyes. He can almost feel the darkness as it filled the clouds before him. "Inuyasha, look..." he said, pointing upwards.  
  
"Nani?" Inuyasha asked, turning to look in the direction the monk was pointing, and felt his jaw drop. The blue sky was practically turning dark gray inch per inch, and he cautiously stepped before Kagome, as if to shield her from any possible threat.  
  
"Miroku-sama, Inuyasha, I feel a strong amount of jaki in the air," Kagome said. Just as she said that, all heads turned as a strong clap of thunder resounded in the distance, barely preceded by a bolt of lightning that split the now gray sky.  
  
Inuyasha took a hold of Tetsusaiga, brandishing it before him. Kagome unconsciously pressed against his back as she took the thin bandages off her right wrist, revealing the golden star that she carefully hid.  
  
"What the fuck is happening?" Inuyasha asked Kagome softly, and she shook her head behind him. He took a cautious look behind him, regarding Kagome, before turning back to look at Miroku.  
  
Good thing he did.  
  
"Miroku! Look out!" Inuyasha yelled as a gigantic bolt of lightning rushed toward his friend from behind.  
  
Startled at the outburst, Miroku instinctively jumped away from his current place, landing a few feet away from Inuyasha and Kagome. He looked at the spot he had been standing in but a couple of seconds ago, shuddering as he noted the burnt patch of land that would have been toasted with him right on top.  
  
"Miroku-sama, daijobu?!" Kagome shouted from her place beside Inuyasha, but she wasn't looking at him. She was staring at a dark spot in the sky that was slowly growing, indicating that whatever it was, it was coming towards them at a rapid pace.  
  
Inuyasha grabbed Kagome as he saw a long bolt of lightning coming at them from the two large dots in the sky. He leapt up towards Miroku, holding onto Kagome's legs as she was slung over his right shoulder.  
  
"What the fuck was that?" he yelled at Miroku, who was clutching at a rosary wrapped around his hand. He looked back at the growing dot, and thought he could see the silhouette of a couple of forms coming at them, but he couldn't be sure...  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted from her place on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I think I know who they are!"  
  
"Who?" Inuyasha and Miroku asked at the same time.  
  
"The Thunder brothers," Kagome said, her arms pressed right above his butt as she fought to keep her balance on his back.  
  
"Nani? The thunder brothers? I thought they were dead!" Miroku exclaimed.  
  
"Well, apparently you thought wrong," Inuyasha said as he set Kagome back on her feet. "Who the hell are the thunder brothers?"  
  
"They are a notorious duo of youkai bandits from the Western quadrant of Crystallia," Kagome explained. "Hiten and Manten... they are known for killing young women, thought I never did know why they did so."  
  
"If they kill off young women," Inuyasha said. "Then you stay the fuck out of their way! Miroku and I will handle this!"  
  
The two had now come into their line of sight. There were two of them, and neither resembled the other in even the smallest of ways, except if you counted their identical ancient Japanese armor. One of them was a rather large, pale, monstrous being, with only two strands of hair on the very top of his head. The other was quite good-looking, with long thick black hair pulled back into a braid. The large one sat on a small thundercloud, while the other flew on a strange large contraption by his feet. He was holding a long staff, with the edges crackling slightly from its last attack.  
  
The human-looking youkai floated above the trio, but just out of their reach, making Inuyasha hold on tighter to his katana. The large one began to speak from right behind them.  
  
"Hiten oniisan, here's the girl! You were right, it is them!"  
  
"Of course I'm right Manten, you oaf," the elder youkai glared at Inuyasha. "And you must be the worthless hanyou trash Naraku sent us to kill."  
  
Inuyasha seethed. "Naraku sent you, huh? Well you'd better turn right around and tell that asshole to fuck off, he's not gonna get anything from us."  
  
"What are you talking about? He just managed to capture that monk's wench," Hiten remarked airily, regarding Miroku who had begun to fume at his words.  
  
"He tricked me... and don't you dare call Sango that!" Miroku shouted, clenching his shakujou tightly. "Come down here and fight like a man!"  
  
"He's baiting you, Miroku-sama," Kagome said, warily eyeing Manten, who was staring shamelessly at her.  
  
"Ah... Azalea. If Naraku had not sent us here after you, I would take you for myself. I never noticed how lovely you looked before," Manten remarked, making Kagome wrinkle her nose in disgust.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere with you, you pathetic excuse of a bald youkai," Kagome said, making the youkai go silent in shock.  
  
"You called me bald..."  
  
"Geez, ya think?" Hiten said from above them. "Anyway, I came for the hanyou and the princess," he continued, pointing his staff down at Inuyasha. "Prepare to die!" he yelled as he shot a bolt of lightning at Inuyasha from the tip of his staff.  
  
Inuyasha once again pulled Kagome with him as he leapt away from the attack. He brought her to the top of an old tree, instructing her to hang on and stay there until he says otherwise, before leaping off to face Hiten, who was rapidly flying towards the tree. He took a swipe at Hiten with Tetsusaiga, slowly but strategically leading him away from Kagome by a silent dare to battle on the ground. "Miroku!" he yelled as he pushed away from the tree. "Take care of the ugly youkai, and leave this shithead to me."  
  
Manten seems to have developed a fetish for killing Kagome, and he immediately headed for her when Inuyasha leapt away. Kagome saw this and was stringing up an arrow when Miroku jumped up to intercept Manten.  
  
"Kagome-sama! Keep safe up there!" he yelled, taking a swipe at the Manten with his shakujou, catching the youkai off guard. He used this opportunity to open up his air rip, pointing it at the monster. "Kazaana!"  
  
Manten was not uninformed though, as he swiftly flew up and away from the void. He swooped down again, opening his wide mouth to reveal a bright ball of light coming from within it. The ball grew in size as he came closer to the monk, and Kagome realized what it was about a second before he released it.  
  
In a rush of adrenaline, Kagome notched up an arrow and shot it at Manten as he released the ball of electric power. Miroku dodged the ball of light easily, but the large Manten was not as lucky with Kagome's arrow.  
  
Meanwhile, Inuyasha was in a tight lock, his Tetsusaiga against Hiten's weapon. The thunder youkai was physically an equal to Inuyasha, and he just knew that given the chance, his Kaze no Kizu can definitely defeat Hiten.  
  
Both pulled back at the same time, only to dive back into the battle at the exact same time. Inuyasha can distantly hear a strangled shout of pain, but did not dare turn around. As long as the shouting wasn't coming from Kagome, he didn't give a damn.  
  
Hiten was distracted though, and turned at the sound of the shout. "Manten!" he yelled in shock, running towards his brother, leaving his opponent, at the sight. Manten had been impaled through the right side of his chest with Kagome's arrow, and had fallen off his cloud to land on the ground beneath Kagome's tree. Hiten saw red as he looked up at the princess, and before she could even blink, he leapt up towards her.  
  
Both Miroku and Inuyasha leapt into action, but Inuyasha got there first. With a furious growl at anyone daring to harm his Kagome, he lunged at Hiten, knocking him to the ground, before he leapt up and raised Tetsusaiga.  
  
"In your dreams, hanyou," Hiten yelled as he managed to dodge Inuyasha's blade. Snarling, Inuyasha ran after his opponent.  
  
Miroku watched from a short distance, keeping his eyes trained on Manten in case he woke up. He did, right after Inuyasha turned towards Hiten, and rushed at Kagome. Kagome was ready for him though, and fired another arrow at him. She missed this time, but Manten had already jumped a few meters away from her, Giving Kagome a chance to leap off the branch to face him.  
  
Miroku started to run over there and interfere. However, a strong gust of wind from right behind him made him turn around, and he found himself staring into a couple of fiery, scarlet eyes.  
  
"Kagura!" he shouted, raising his shakujou to strike her.  
  
Kagura gave an inaudible yip, before leaping up into the branches of a taller dead tree. "Watch it, houshi. I may be able to help you."  
  
"There is nothing that a minion of Naraku could possibly do for me," Miroku snapped, taking hold of the beads on his right hand.  
  
"I can take you to the taijiya, you idiotic prick! Don't want to see her?"  
  
That made Miroku pause. "You won't do that... you work for Naraku," he said suspiciously, but still lowered his hand, as Kagura came down from the branches and walked towards him.  
  
"I do," she began. "But I don't enjoy it. And besides..." Kagura hesitated, before pulling a small piece of stained pink cloth from her robes and holding it out for Miroku to see.  
  
He recognized it instantly. It was part of Sango's kimono... and it was stained with blood.  
  
"Sango..." he said, taking a small step towards Kagura, holding out one of his hands to the piece of her clothing. He turned stormy purple eyes to the female youkai. "Is she hurt?"  
  
Kagura nodded. Miroku knew that he was in a dangerous state, and that trusting this woman could be perilous, but if there was a tiny possibility that Sango was hurt...  
  
"Take me to her."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Inuyasha took another wild swing at Hiten. He was slightly panicked. He just saw Manten stand and head towards Kagome, and he had to protect her... and he couldn't gut that big blob of ugliness if his brother was making an ass of himself and took a long time getting defeated!  
  
With great effort, Inuyasha struck down Hiten's flying aids as the man swung a kick his way. The youkai, in surprise, fell back, landing painfully on his tailbone on the ground. Inuyasha took the chance to slam the sword down into the fallen youkai's stomach, impaling him thoroughly with his sword. Not even bothering to make sure if the guy was dead, Inuyasha pulled his katana out and turned to run towards Kagome.  
  
He turned just in time to see Kagome release an arrow at Manten, catching him on the other side of his chest. It had been the third arrow to hit home, and Inuyasha watched as Manten seemingly dissolved into a cloud of pink reiryoku, before completely disappearing.  
  
Kagome grinned tiredly at him across the plain, and Inuyasha gave a thumbs up sign, before turning back to look at Hiten.  
  
Only, the guy wasn't there.  
  
His eyes full of horror, he turned to look back towards Kagome, finding just what he feared. Hiten, his eyes ablaze and the sharp end of his staff pointed at Kagome, was rushing towards the girl. With a speed and force he didn't know he possessed, Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga, gathering the winds about him in the process, and brought it down with a fierce shout.  
  
"KAZE NO KIZU!!!"  
  
The winds and the blaze of his fury and panic raced across the plain, reaching the youkai as he brought his weapon down on the princess. The Kaze no Kizu's winds hit at the exactly right time, right before the tip of his staff made contact with Kagome's chest.  
  
Kagome ducked down as the winds came her way, and when she looked up, all that was left of Hiten was his chest plate and a few scorched strands of black hair.  
  
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled as he bounded up to her. "Kagome! Daijobu? Are you hurt? Are you injured?" he asked rapidly, holding Kagome by the shoulders as he turned her this way and that, checking for injuries.  
  
"Inuyasha, I'm fine! Don't be silly," Kagome said laughingly. "Are YOU alright?"  
  
"Yeah. Hiten got my arm with that staff thing, but I'm fine," Inuyasha said, absently noticing that the sky was beginning to clear up again. "Where's Miroku?"  
  
"Huh? I thought he was with you?"  
  
"No, I thought he..." Inuyasha trailed off as a familiar, highly unwanted scent reached him.  
  
"Inuyasha, nani o?" Kagome asked in concern at the sudden anger in Inuyasha's face.  
  
"Naraku... I smell Naraku."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Everything had raced past Miroku in a blur, and before he knew it, he was standing right in front of the Garnet Tower. He shuddered as the realization that he was in front of THE most evil structure in all of Crystallia.  
  
"Where is she?" Miroku asked, but the only answer he got was from Kagura turning and walking towards the entrance of the tower. Miroku looked around cautiously as they entered. He followed Kagura as she stepped inside, but was totally shocked when she suddenly leapt up and disappeared in the thick blackness of the hall.  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" Miroku turned abruptly as he heard this, his heart pounding in relief.  
  
"Sango!" he turned towards the sound of her voice, but his heart caught in his throat when he suddenly saw Hiraikotsu heading straight for him. He ducked madly, watching its progress through the air until it finally sailed back to its wielder.  
  
"SANGO!" he yelled happily, already imagining her as she ran into his arms in relief that he was here as he bade his worries about her being injured and dying a good riddance, but all his thoughts froze over when he finally saw her.  
  
Sango stood, half hidden by shadows, her hands on hiraikotsu as she got ready to throw it once again.  
  
At him.  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" she yelled almost angrily, shocking Miroku and nearly making him forget to leap out of the way of the gigantic boomerang. She watched as the weapon sailed back to her, caught it, then stepped out of the shadows.  
  
Miroku was in shock. Sango was there, her eyes overflowing with tears, her hands keeping a tight, determined hold on her weapon. Her lips were pulled back in an anguished frown as she once again raised her weapon and threw it at him.  
  
He dodged once again, before finally finding his tongue. "Sango! What are you doing?!" he yelled. 'What is going on? Is she under a spell?'  
  
She didn't answer, didn't even look into his eyes as she caught her boomerang and once again threw it at him with a vengeance. Her eyes were pained and haunted, and Miroku knew from the sound of her breathing that she was sobbing heavily as she continued to attack him.  
  
"Sango! Why are you doing this?" Miroku tried again after dodging another attack from her weapon.  
  
Sango caught hiraikotsu, then with an anguished cry, yelled, "I have no choice!"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" she all but screamed as she threw her weapon once more, obviously intending to do some serious bodily harm to Miroku.  
  
"What are you talking about, Sango?" Miroku demanded as Sango seemingly gave up on trying to hit him from afar, and came charging at him, swinging her Hiraikotsu like a warrior goddess.  
  
"Hiya!" Sango cried as she swung hiraikotsu at Miroku, who ducked and dodged her every blow. Miroku was getting exhausted, and it took several more dodges before he thought of blocking hiraikotsu with his shakujou.  
  
"Sango! Tell me what's wrong!" he said in panic, noticing that she had not stopped crying since she stepped into the room.  
  
Sango gave another furious attempt, and Miroku ended up blocking her and trying to push her away, their weapons holding strong against the other. Miroku's confused face, and Sango's anguished one, were inches apart as they pushed furiously at the other's weapon.  
  
"I have no choice. Forgive me..." she said so softly, Miroku almost didn't catch it. After speaking, Sango backflipped away from the disgruntled monk before delivering another crushing blow upon him, which he once again blocked with shakujou.  
  
"What do you mean? Tell me, onegai!" he begged her desperately. He didn't want to fight her...  
  
Sango once again pulled furiously away from him, swung her weapon around and released it, and Miroku ducked as Hiraikotsu came straight at him. Its rapid flight took it immediately back to Sango, who once again released it, aiming for his head.  
  
Miroku leapt back. He couldn't take this anymore!  
  
"Sango!" he pleaded. "Don't do this to me, onegai! I don't want to fight you!"  
  
Sango gave a loud shout as she released hiraikotsu again, this time, aiming for his torso.  
  
"Sango, listen to me, please!"  
  
"Shut up! Hiraikotsu!" she shouted as Miroku felt tears of frustration welling up in his eyes.  
  
Sango's eyes were still overflowing with tears, but she was throwing Hiraikotsu with expert precision. Miroku was having a hard time keeping his head.  
  
"Sango... STOP! I can't fight you!"  
  
Sango continued her relentless assault as Miroku's confused mind went over all the possibilities. But nothing made sense...  
  
"Sango, onegai!" He pleaded again. "I can't fight you... I can't hurt you...  
  
I...  
  
I love you, Sango..."  
  
Sango paused from her furious actions, halting hiraikotsu just as she was about to release it Then she stared at him, as the tears started to flow more quickly down her pallid cheeks.  
  
She smiled a cheerless smile, holding her hiraikotsu in both hands. "Miroku..." she began.  
  
"I love you too..." she said miserably, before her eyes once again hardened with determination. "But I have no choice."  
  
Her words had caught Miroku so off guard, that he had reacted a second too late from Sango's newest attack. He tried to dodge the Hiraikotsu, but the boomerang still caught his side, slamming into him painfully, breaking his right arm.  
  
He was exhausted... both mentally and physically from this fight with Sango, and his fight with Manten, and he still hadn't been fully recovered from the wounds he had received when Sango was abducted. He cried out and dropped shakujou, slumping on the floor against a wall, and Sango took that chance to throw Hiraikotsu over his lap, trapping his arms between his body and the weapon. She then ran over and sat on his legs.  
  
A small glint off to the side momentarily caught Miroku's attention, but Sango caught it right back when he saw her pulling her sword out of its scabbard from where it was attached to her belt. She raised it up and aimed it at his chest, right above his heart, with her right hand shakily grasping the hilt.  
  
She reached out to touch his cheek with her left hand, stroking it reverently as she smiled bitterly at him. Then, almost as if she had suddenly caught herself, she pulled her hand back, and let it hold her sword's hilt along with her right. She pressed it to his chest, leaning down so that her face was close to his as she spoke.  
  
"I love you... gomen..." she said tearfully, as she watched her sword slowly pierce his chest, drawing a few drops of blood in the process. She looked deep into his pained purple eyes, then brushed her lips over his for a fleeting moment.  
  
She let out a breathy whisper as she pulled away, her eyes pained and angry at the same time. "Please..." she whispered to him. "Forgive me..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: I am sooo gonna get flamed. Oh well, I hope not. But I just know you guys are hating me right now! Gomen! But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the long chapter. My fingers aren't exactly my number one fans at the moment. *Looks at swelling fingers* Eew...  
  
And gomen if the fighting scene with the thunder brothers was kinda rushed... I was getting sleepy, and the emphasis in this chap was on the Mir/San scene, not on the freaky thunder freaks. No offense to those who find Hiten cute. I personally think the guy's a hunk, but I'm a total Inuyasha fangirl. ^_^.  
  
And wow, you guys are the greatest! I absolutely regret not updating sooner! You left me... *counts very carefully*... 26 reviews?! My god, I'm so happy! *Gives donuts and cookies to reviewers*  
  
Responses!!!  
  
Kinara: Ehehe... I don't really like killing off characters... but I do love tormenting them! *Evil laugh*.I couldn't kill Sango, I like her too much!  
  
V.I.: I guess I get carried away with the swearing all the time. *sweatdrops* I'll minimize them if you feel uncomfortable. Anyway, gomen for the delay in the update. Hehe... and thanks! I'm glad you like it!  
  
Fetchboy69: I'd kill Kikyo, but I'd never kill Sango. She's a great character! And... ahaha... gomen again for the delay... Glad you liked it!  
  
Taijiya-Sango88: I didn't! I didn't kill her!  
  
Chevere: Oh, you were in Venezuela? Wicked! I hope you had a lot of fun there, and thanks for the vote of confidence!  
  
Kittymui: Glad you liked it! Japanese guides, eh? Hmm... Taeko Kamiya's "Speak Japanese Today" is a good choice if you wanna learn some fast Japanese quick. But it's almost only limited to the basics. And getting a Japanese dictionary could help a lot, too. ^_^  
  
ShadowStar666: Glad you liked it! And gomen for the late update. ^_^  
  
Litwolf689: Thanks! Glad you liked it. I hope you got enough rest after that trip. Five hours?! Damn, that oughta be exhausting!  
  
EternalDemoness: Yep, the Philippines. A cute exchange guy? You should go talk to him. We're naturally friendly people, actually! ^_^ Glad you liked it!  
  
Asha3: I'm on your author alert? Gee, thanks! I'm flattered! Gomen, I don't play RPGs. Ehehe... I suck at anything that has controllers. I swear to God, I can't even get to the third level of Mario Bros. I'm glad you like my story. Thanks!  
  
Jagged-Heart: Ahahaha... I've got to admit, sometimes I read chaps and forget to review. T_T Damn internet curfew of mine. Don't cry, it's ok! And... gomen for the late update.  
  
Dragonstar03: Here's the update!  
  
KrysTheAngel: Roaches up Naraku's sleeve? I don't think so... Not even roaches would come near him. ^_^ Yeah, if I were Miroku I would rip Naraku limb from limb. And about Sango... please don't kill me. *Cowers in fright* Glad you liked the chap, and gomen for the late update!  
  
Guardian Angel of ALL Anime: He didn't... but now I'm starting to wish he did. *sweatdrops* Gomen for the late update. Here's the next chap!  
  
KawaiiKitten11: I'm glad you like the fic! ^_^ I didn't have the heart to make him mad at her. Gomen for the late update!  
  
Sukuri: Oh, oh, oh! Belated Happy Birthday! Maligayang bati kaibigan (that was tagalog)! You wear glasses? I guess we both have bad vision, then? I have 250/20 vision, so I wear contacts. I'm chubby, and if I wear glasses, I'd end up looking like the college dean. T_T Anyway, "itai" means "ouch", you were right! Oh, and arigatou for the carol! I'd sing you one now, but it's almost Valentine's day. *sweatdrops* Arigatou for the review!  
  
UnholyDragoon: You know, I really love your reviews because you tell me just what you like in the chap, and what I can improve! Arigatou! Glad you liked it, and gomen for the delay in update. Ja!  
  
Paulina: Ok lang yun! Hindi rin ako nakakaupdate e! Sorry!  
  
InuyashaGirlie: Oh, Naraku will get what's coming for him! I'm glad you liked the chapter! Gomen for the late update! Ja!  
  
Midoriko-sama: Glad you liked it! Well, glad you didn't get linched, coz in MY case, I've had some pretty furious emails... eh, I don't blame them. Arigatou!  
  
EvilDarkness25: Thanks!  
  
The Literary Dragon: My thoughts exactly. And like I said, he'll get what's coming to him. Arigatou! Gomen for the late update.  
  
Yami Yuugi Lover AKA Kiyo: Um... thanks for the review!  
  
Ryngrl5: Here's the update! Gomen for taking so long. T_T Arigatou, glad you liked!  
  
Yamiyumetenshi: Yeah well, I still don't like her. She's getting in Kagome's way!!! Hehe! No prob about the name, I share my blessings. ^_^ Tell me when your fic is posted! I'd like to read it! Arigatou!  
  
AnimeObsessionFantasy: Oh, they found her, alright. ^_^ Gomen for the delay!  
  
Well, that's it! And yeah, special thanks to DRAKE220 (aff.net) for your unbelievably long review! You've been quite inspiring, probably the most flattering review I ever got too! ^_^ Arigatou!  
  
So, that's all! Again, gomen for the delay, and arigatou to everybody who reviewed, and even those who read and didn't review, thanks a lot for reading! I'll be updating sooner than this last one, I promise! God bless you all! ^_^  
  
Please R and R!  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	28. I Can't Win

A/N: *Dodges bullets, youki and tomatoes.* I am soooo sorry! *Dodges another set of random objects thrown her way.* People, are you that mad at me? *Dodges a blast from a flamethrower.* Ok, I get the point!  
  
I am soooo sorry for taking so long with this chapter! Heck, I seem to be apologizing a lot lately. Anyway, my schoolwork from last February and March have very much taken up every single waking moment of my life for those two months, and as I said before, I couldn't very much put my hobbies (*cough* fanfic writing *cough*) before my studies. I have an average grade to maintain!  
  
Basing from the emails I got, I am assuming that no one is exactly happy with my last cliffy... Oh my, I got a flame for that...  
  
And think about it. I promised I wouldn't make you guys wait one month. I kept that promise... I made you guys wait two months! *Dodges knives and more tomatoes* Ok, corny joke...  
  
Anyway, here is the long-in-the-making chapter that took two friggin months before getting posted. Extra juicy, just for you. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Do I LOOK like I own anything valuable? Of course I don't own Inuyasha!  
  
-----/---@  
  
SEVEN WEEKS  
  
I Can't Win  
  
-----/---@  
  
She let out a breathy whisper as she pulled away, her eyes pained and angry at the same time. "Please..." she whispered to him. "Forgive me..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Miroku-sama!" Kagome called out as she rode on Inuyasha's back as he leapt and ran through the barren forest. "Miroku-sama! Where are you?"  
  
Kagura had dooped them with that one. And the pair knew it was Kagura because she was always sent for Naraku's dirty work...  
  
Inuyasha growled again in anger. 'Fucking Kagura. She was probably riding that damn feather thing of hers again,' he thought. Her scent just disappeared as soon as he stepped away from the earlier battleground, which could mean that she either teleported with Miroku somehow, or she flew off. He had tried calling Miroku on the amulet, but for some reason, it seemed the monk was not answering. Again.  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome's agitated voice broke through his musings. "Do you think that Miroku-sama is in the Garnet Tower right now? Because if he had captured Sango..."  
  
"He probably has Miroku now as well," Inuyasha finished. "I've been thinking about that Kagome. This probably means that we're only an arm's length away from the tower... and it's about time we pulled Naraku off his throne."  
  
"I agree. We're running out of time. If we're gonna spend your last few days here happy, we'd better get a move on," Kagome replied with a small smile. "I was hoping to spend some more time with you before you leave. You know... and we're never going to accomplish anything if you're still wounded."  
  
"Keh!" he scoffed. "As if that idiot Naraku would do any damage to me. I promise you a lot of quality time before I leave," he said, leaving Kagome blushing with the slight innuendo.  
  
"Inuyasha, you..." Kagome began to reprimand him, but a glimpse of the waxing horizon made her pause. Since she was on Inuyasha's back, her view was a bit wider than his, and she could barely believe what she was seeing. She peered up again when Inuyasha leapt up, the darkening red sky casting amazing shadows on the object of her astonishment. "Oh gods..."  
  
"Nani, Kagome? Oi... daijobu?" Inuyasha asked, peering over his shoulder at the woman on his back. She was straining up, as if trying to see something just beyond her viewpoint.  
  
"Inuyasha..." she began. "I... I see the Garnet Tower."  
  
"What?" he nearly shouted, pausing from his strides to stand on a tall tree and regard Kagome. "Are you serious?"  
  
"The Garnet Tower, Inuyasha. It's there, just beyond the horizon."  
  
Inuyasha set Kagome down on the branch before he took a leap from the high branch, jumping as high as he could to see for himself... and there it was.  
  
He gasped aloud, barely believing his eyes. Its dark stone turrets were full of harsh red light, casting haunting shadows upon the creek and sallow grounds beneath it. Mists and miasma hung around it like a plague, and even in the dim light of the early evening, it clearly radiated angry youki. There it was... his mission... the Garnet Tower.  
  
"I can't believe it..." he whispered , but his flight had also shown him something in the night sky that made him cringe. "Shit," he muttered, right before dropping back down to where Kagome stood. "I can't believe it!" he exclaimed once again when he was face-to-face with her. "Kagome, the tower! It's finally within reach!"  
  
"Ee. I know," Kagome said with a smile. "It would probably take us another day to get there, though."  
  
"I could get there in the morning if we continue going," he said with a slightly feral grin. Kagome shook her head.  
  
"Iie. It's getting late, Inuyasha," she said, touching his wounded arm. "And we had both worn ourselves out during that battle with the Thunder Brothers. We both need to rest."  
  
"But..."  
  
"I know that you're worried about them," she cut in. "I am too. But like you told Miroku-sama, we would do no good if we get there dead on our feet."  
  
"You don't understand, Kagome... we have to get there as soon as possible!" he insisted, tugging her arm away from his own.  
  
Kagome looked at him in confusion. "Inuyasha... is something wrong?"  
  
Inuyasha nodded, catching a whiff of another thing that made him EXTREMELY uncomfortable. 'Gods, Kagome,' he thought, unconsciously taking another deep breath. "This is not good."  
  
"Nani? What is not good?"  
  
"Kag-chan," Inuyasha said, surprising her. The nickname just seemed... well... out of context in the situation. "Its... Kagome, you're... well..."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"You're fucking ovulating!"  
  
"What the heck does that mean?"  
  
"You're in heat again!"  
  
Kagome's face flamed up. Inuyasha had told her about the scent of her heat driving him crazy... 'What does that have to do with anything?!' she thought. "So?"  
  
"What happens tomorrow, after you go in heat?" Inuyasha asked her heatedly, confusing her.  
  
"I dunno! But I know what happens to YOU during this time!"  
  
"This is not the time to talk about that!!!" Inuyasha yelled, a dark blush coating his cheeks.  
  
"Hey! You brought it up!"  
  
"But that's not my point!" he snapped, trying to regain his lost composure as they continued to bicker atop the tree. He was still blushing. "I'll tell you. You have your period. And during what do you have your period?"  
  
"During the shingetsu. The new moon." Kagome answered.  
  
"And what happens to ME during the new moon NIGHT?" he asked her.  
  
Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but the words froze in her throat as she contemplated what they meant. "You... you turn human."  
  
"Exactly!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "And I don't want to face Naraku on my human night..."  
  
Kagome looked up to the sky, noting that the moon was only a tiny sliver of skylight at the moment. "Damn."  
  
-----/---@  
  
Miroku's eyes widened as Sango's katana pierced him deeper, making a weak flow of blood flow from his chest. But strangely enough... it stopped going deeper.  
  
"Sango," he gasped. "Do what you must..."  
  
"Urusai!" she snapped softly, but fiercely. "Shut up..."  
  
Miroku was confused... Now what?  
  
Sango leaned down, her tears dripping down the side of his cheek as she pressed her lips close to his ear. "Listen," she whispered. "Stay down. Don't move until I call you."  
  
'What?' he thought. She wouldn't kill him? But he thought...!  
  
"Just trust me."  
  
She didn't give him any time to react as she suddenly moved her katana to his side and plunged it in hard. She stifled his shout of pain, placing her palm firmly on his mouth to keep him from making any sound. His eyes were wide and slightly unfocused, and Sango had to bite her lip to keep herself from leaning down to comfort him. She lowered her head, pressing her forehead against his as his eyes slowly cleared again, staring at her questioningly.  
  
Miroku felt the throbbing ache of his wounded chest, felt the dizzying nausea as her sword went through his skin, but his mind was filled with questions. 'She didn't kill me!' was the most dominant thought of all... she had stabbed him a bit to far off on his side, a part that had hurt but would definitely not cause him death.  
  
"Close your eyes, pretend you are dead... onegai..." she whispered as tears fell from her eyes to his face once again. She hated the fact that she had to hurt him... but she also had to draw some of his blood to make it believable. He closed his eyes to acknowledge her.  
  
He felt Sango get off him, leaving her sword in his chest. God, the pain was excruciating, but he held his thoughts back. He had to know what was going on.  
  
He heard her footsteps drawing away from him, felt her pick up her Hiraikotsu, and he tried his very hard not to move a muscle. The exertion and the pain of the sword in his side were making him breathe a bit too heavy, so he decided to hold his breath a fraction to still his chest from heaving.  
  
"Have you killed him?" a small voice asked out of nowhere, and Miroku had to stifle his curiosity hard to keep from opening his eyes.  
  
"Yes. My sword is still in his chest, as you can see," Sango said, her voice hard. "Now let Kohaku's soul go, and give me the Shikon no Tama, you user."  
  
"Not yet. I have to make sure," the small voice said again, and Miroku heard a rustle as the owner of the other voice shifted closer to him.  
  
"He is still alive."  
  
"No he's not!" Sango replied, her voice shaking slightly. "I killed him. You watched me! I... I had to kill... the man that I *love*," she added in an angry voice. "Now keep your end of the bargain!"  
  
"If he is dead, why can I not take his soul into my mirror?"  
  
Sango paused. Now what?  
  
"Because..." she started, trying to think of the fastest lie she could ever come up with. "Wait a minute! You didn't say that you would take Miroku's soul!"  
  
His name on her lips... Now Miroku could die happy...  
  
"I have to see if he is dead."  
  
Sango's change of topic gave her enough time to make something up. "Well, he is. And the reason you couldn't take his soul yet, is that... because... because he is a holy man! Yes, that's it! He is a holy man, and his body will prevent his soul from leaving his body until after a few hours. Didn't you know that?" she said, pleased with herself for coming up with such a marvelous lie.  
  
"No."  
  
Miroku could take it no longer. He opened his eyes a tiny fraction, seeing his Sango standing over him, Hiraikotsu over her shoulder, glaring down at a small, white youkai with the features of a child. The child was holding a mirror that was glowing an ethereal blue, showing him the outline of what appeared to be a face. Not Sango's.  
  
"Well, now you know! Give me Kohaku's soul! I fulfilled my end of the bargain," Sango said, holding out a small blue sphere. "You promised me that you would give me his soul in exchange for Miroku's death. Now do it!"  
  
'Kohaku... her brother!' he thought, anger bubbling in him. They had made her choose between him and Kohaku? That was so twisted!  
  
"Alright," the small youkai said. "Hold out the gem."  
  
Sango opened her palm to expose the gem, watching eagerly as a thin curl of smoke rose from the mirror towards her palm. The blue mist wrapped around her wrists softly before slowly seeping into the sphere. The smoke eventually vanished into the gem altogether, and Sango gave a small smile as she looked at the gem, where she felt she could see her brother's eyes looking straight at her. She put the gem into a pocket of her armor, tying its opening to secure the gem in it.  
  
She stepped towards Miroku, pulling out the sword and nearly causing him to grimace. He kept still as death, knowing there was something more.  
  
"Now call that bastard and hand me the Shikon no Tama," Sango said.  
  
"Kukuku... why my dear Sango, did you truly think it was that simple?"  
  
Miroku had to restrain himself from standing. It was his voice... Naraku's voice... just begging him to get up and mangle the evil youkai.  
  
Sango appeared livid. "Naraku, you bastard! Show yourself," she shouted at the sky. "I killed Miroku for you, something that I would have never wanted to do. Now give me the Shikon no Tama!"  
  
Naraku let out a chuckle that made Miroku's blood boil. "Not yet," he heard Naraku say. "First, I want you to kill Inuyasha."  
  
"But that wasn't part of the plan!"  
  
"Now it is," Naraku said. "The monk has never been a hindrance to me. I just used him to see how far you would go for the Shikon no Tama. Now I want the hanyou dead."  
  
"I knew it, you bastard!" Sango cried. "I knew it! But I don't need to take the Shikon no Tama from you... Inuyasha and Kagome can do that just fine."  
  
"Come now, Sango!" Naraku said as he stepped away from the shadows, emerging before her. "I watched you kill the houshi. You can kill Inuyasha. You already did something for me, why don't you just continue?"  
  
"Because I know that you would never really give me that Shikon no Tama. And I never did anything for you, bakayarou. Stupid bastard!"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Miroku!" Sango cried. That was his cue.  
  
He sat up a bit slowly, fighting off the pain in his chest as Naraku looked on in shocked rage. Sango pushed the small youkai away with a strong bash from her Hiraikotsu, which caused the youkai to release a shocked cry of pain. Sango helped him to his feet, hooking her free arm around his midriff and keeping her eyes on Naraku.  
  
"You're alive!" he shouted in outrage. "You tricked me!" he shouted to Sango, who had a smirk on her lips.  
  
"That makes two of us, you bastard!" Sango said, stomping her boot on the end of the shakujou, making it spring into the air and right into Miroku's hands.  
  
Miroku turned steely eyes to Naraku, his cursed right hand clenching as Sango held him up by her arm around his torso. "Naraku," he all but growled. "You are such a bastard!"  
  
Naraku looked disgruntled, his eyes settling on Kanna as she stood. "Kanna!" he shouted, as if the name itself was a command.  
  
And it seemed it was, for the moment Kanna managed to stand straight, She pointed her mirror at the pair. Sango would have leapt back, but having to hold Miroku had slowed her down. As if in slow motion, she watched as the band of light approached them, and before she knew what happened, everything went black.  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Damn!" Inuyasha exclaimed for the nth time as he sat before the campfire with Kagome, eating a thin soup. "I can't get through!" he shouted, throwing the communicator amulet a few feet away in frustration.  
  
Kagome shook her head. He was upset... it was obvious. He was unsettled about the fact that he would be turning human the next night... the night when he and Naraku may face each other finally.  
  
"Inuyasha," she called softly. "Please... I know you're worried, but it would all work out!"  
  
"How?!" he said severely, surprising Kagome. "Tell me how, Kagome! I'm turning human tomorrow! And you and I both know how useless I am when human!" he yelled, waving his bandaged arm to emphasize his point.  
  
"You're not useless!" Kagome shrieked back, losing her patience. "Inuyasha, if you think you're the only one upset about Miroku and Sango, you're sadly mistaken!"  
  
"That's not it!"  
  
"Well, what IS it?" she yelled, throwing her bowl in frustration, scattering bits of vegetables and splotches of soup. Tears welled up in her eyes and she saw Inuyasha's face twist in panic as he smelled the salt in the air. "I'm not exactly relaxed about this! You... you're turning human. You think I'm not worried? You're not useless as a human, Yash, but you are stronger as a hanyou and I don't know if we could fight Naraku enough. But we can't wait til after the new moon because Miroku and Sango are there and may be in trouble!"  
  
Inuyasha stood and walked over to her, sitting beside her and wrapping her in his arms. She immediately snuggled in, pushing her face into his haori to attempt to block out the sound of her sobs.  
  
"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said softly as Kagome calmed down. "I... I don't know what's gonna happen and..." he gulped audibly, placing his head on top of hers. "I'm scared. I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough to protect you. Afraid that I might let everyone down. And I don't..."  
  
Kagome looked up when she felt his breath catch. He was looking away, his bangs covering his eyes. She reached up a hand to push his bangs back, but dark shadows of the night shaded his eyes from her view.  
  
"I don't want to go home..." he said, startling Kagome when a single drop of liquid fell on her hand. She turned his head towards her and saw that his eyes were clenched shut, his arms tightening around her. "I don't want to go..."  
  
Three days come morning... he only had three days left... And they had to face their deadliest enemy on the morrow. The reality of the thought hit Kagome hard, and she wrapped her arms around him as best as she could as she tried desperately to stop her tears.  
  
"And I haven't even learned the Bakuryuuha yet!" Inuyasha added, laughing bitterly. "I want to win this, Kagome. I really do. But I never will..."  
  
"We can beat Naraku, Inuyasha. We can... We will WIN this!"  
  
Inuyasha finally opened his eyes, and Kagome gasped to find that his bright blue orbs were clouded with unshed tears.  
  
"That's not what I mean," he said.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
Without another word, Inuyasha suddenly lay back, pulling her down with him to the floor. He hugged her tightly to himself, ignoring Kagome's questions. He crushed her to himself, whispering soft words, urging her to sleep.  
  
"Stay with me," he said almost desperately, and Kagome finally fell silent.  
  
He was very upset...  
  
She snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms more securely around him. A soft rumbling sound came from Inuyasha, slowly putting her to sleep.  
  
Inuyasha on the other hand, lay wide awake, staring up at the sky and the tiny sliver of the light that was the moon.  
  
'I can beat Naraku,' he told himself. 'I can, for Kagome.'  
  
He looked down at her, loosing himself as he took a deep breath of her sweet scent. A scent that will forever be etched into his memory, until the day he dies.  
  
'I had hoped,' he thought 'that once this was all over, I could have you. That I could win you...'  
  
He stroked her dark hair reverently, committing everything about her to memory. Reminiscing the night they had given the gift of their innocence to each other. Replaying all her words in his mind.  
  
- Flashback -  
  
"Demo, I will be with you, Inuyasha!" she said, putting a hand on the right part of his chest. "I will always be in your heart... as you will be in mine. And last night... we left a part of ourselves in each other last night. We will never be truly apart."  
  
(Great Jokes, chapter 21)  
  
- End Flashback -  
  
He nuzzled her hair, breathing in her essence. He wanted to have her... that was all he had ever wanted...  
  
"I'll never win..."  
  
-----/---@  
  
"Sango,"  
  
She kept her eyes closed. Gods, did this seem familiar! She totally disliked voices in the dark.  
  
"Sango, it's me. Are you ok?"  
  
That voice... she knew that voice...  
  
She opened her eyes, blinking owlishly in the darkness of the room. "Gods, where am I?" she asked, looking around the pitch black room. 'Well, that was productive.'  
  
"Sango! You're conscious! Thank the gods!"  
  
"Miroku?" she called. She tried to move, but realized that her hands were in shackles attached to a cold wall. Her feet were also held back, and she could only guess that she was, once again, in Naraku's dungeon.  
  
"Sango! Are you ok? Can you see me?" It was Miroku alright.  
  
"No... Where are you?"  
  
"I'm right in front of you," he said. "It's dark. Just wait for your eyes to adjust. You'll see a bit in a short while," he instructed.  
  
Sango followed, staring wide-eyed at an empty space until her eyes adjusted enough to let her see his form. It seemed that Miroku was also tied to the wall, and they were both stripped of their weapons. The smell of fresh blood was strong in the room, and Sango could only gulp tearfully as she realized where it was coming from. Or rather, from whom it was coming from.  
  
"Sango, are you ok? You were out for a long time, and I couldn't walk over there because I'm tied up! Sango? Can you see me now? Can..."  
  
"Gomen... Please forgive me," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. She hung her head. I hurt you. I stabbed you... I used you for my plans... I thought my plans would work..."  
  
Miroku was overwhelmed. 'Oh, that?' he thought, and though the persistent pain in his side and chest kept reminding him that he had quite a few wounds that needed attention, his mind kept drifting to the words that Sango had spoken right before she stabbed him.  
  
"Sango... I don't care about that. I would heal. I just..."  
  
"No! Please... Naraku had said that he would give me Kohaku's soul and the Shikon no Tama in exchange for your life. I knew from the start that I couldn't kill you," she gulped, the tears starting to flow again. "Not even if I had the skill, which I don't. He was going to destroy my brother's soul. I thought that I could outsmart him. But I couldn't. I thought... but... I can't win, Miroku. And now we're both in this mess!"  
  
"Sango!" Miroku said loudly. "It's ok. I understand. But please... tell me one thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
Miroku was silent. Then, in a trembling voice, he asked. "Did you mean it?"  
  
"Mean what?"  
  
"Do you... love me?"  
  
Sango looked up, the tears still flowing down her cheeks. Her eyes had cleared up enough that she could see him biting his lower lip, looking intently at her.  
  
She smiled slowly, looking deep into his eyes. She saw his hopeful, perplexed expression relax as understanding dawned upon them both.  
  
And he smiled back.  
  
-----/---@  
  
A/N: That's all for now, people! Gah! My eyes hurt from staring at the computer for so long!  
  
Thanks to LILMISSY (that was so nice of you, emailing me with all of your reviews for the chaps you missed! Arigatou! And gomen, Shippou won't be appearing. T_T), LOVABLE-SHIPPO, CAP'NYOSSARIAN, DREAMING STAR, ANONYMOUS (I will, I promise!), SUKURI (I should give you and Lilmissy the "longest review award". I love long reviews! Anyway, thanks for the bandages, and gomen for the late update. Swear words? Haha! Those are actually the first things that my friends ask me of once they learn that I speak Jap. *sweatdrops* What is it with teens and swearing?), PORI-PORI, IXCHEN, KITTEN STARR (15 chaps straight? OMG! I'm glad you like my fic that much! Arigatou!), CHELLEK (Thanks! I'm glad you like my fic so much! Gomen for the late update. ^_^), THE INSANE ONE (Gomen! Anyway, I tried to email you, but my damn account won't comply! Gomen!), THE WRAITH (Oh, I should get myself a Falcon Youkai... Anyway, gosh, I would have LOVED to ask for your ides, but I got your review a bit late somehow... I'd already written the chap. I hope you like this one anyway. ^_^), STARRFIRE3 (ehehe... gomen for the late update. Don't murder anyone yet! Save it for Naraku, coz you would love to by next chap...) MIDORIKO-SAMA (thanks for the jacket!), Elven Dragonlord (I confused myself too, actually. ^_^), GUARDIAN ANGEL OF ALL ANIME (gomen for the cliffy... and thanks for the chocolates!), FETCHBOY69, COOL20, TAIJIYA-SANGO88 (gomen for torturing Miroku...), SHADOWSTAR666, CHEVERE (I wish I could get to Venezuela.), YAMIYUMETENSHI, KITTYMUI, ANIMEOBSSESSIONFANTASY, INUYASHAGIRLIE (if Naraku were around, I'll call you and we could both gang-up on him! How does that sound?! ^_^), HANAMARU285 and THE LITERARY DRAGON (I promise it will be in the next chapter.) for reviewing!  
  
Thanks to all the people who have stuck with me and my stories until today. I know I haven't exactly been one of the most consistent authors when it comes to updates, so thank you sooo much!  
  
And for those complaining about me not putting the translations of the Japanese words in this fic, I DO! I follow them up with their English translations. Example was one of Sango's lines in this chap:  
  
--- "Urusai!" she snapped softly, but fiercely. "Shut up..." ---  
  
See? I do! I kinda reiterate the words like Mojo Jojo...  
  
By the way, to those who have time, I have two other fics called 'A Bond of Thorns' and 'Enchanted Dawn' and they're not getting too many reviews... sooo... could you PLEASE check them out? Coz if nobody likes them, I'm just gonna stop posting them. No sense in writing something that's no good, ne?  
  
Now that I'm done plugging shamelessly, groveling at your feet, I'm off! Thanks for reading this story and pleeeease review! Arigatou! Ja!  
  
*Next Chapter: The New Moon  
  
~~How does that sound?  
  
ScarletRaven1001 


	29. The New Moon Part 1

A/N: Oh guys, I know I am a never-updating bitch, and I'm sorry! The university that I go to isn't exactly reasonable with the damn requirements. Also, my boyfriend and I just broke up, and those of you who have ever had a boyfriend probably know how upsetting that is, and I just can't seem to concentrate. Oh well... I guess we probably weren't really meant to be, ne?

But now I have to look for a new boyfriend! Oh, the thrill of the hunt... LOL!

To all my lovely reviewers, thank you sooo much for sticking with me, even now that I update like, every blue moon. I have just gained a bit of inspiration, so I may be back to updating again about once a week. This story has five chapters to go, by the way! And please excuse any typos I may have. Remember, I don't have, and have never had, a beta.

Besides, we all know what does to our formats...

This chap is insanely long, so I split it into two parts, so you all won't get an eye-burn or anything. Arigatou for reading and please review! I love you all!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Damn.

SEVEN WEEKS

The New Moon – Part 1

Inuyasha was practically flying across the fields with Kagome on his back. Eagerness crawled at his insides as he anticipated the upcoming fight. He knew it had to be now... screw the new moon. He was gonna kill Naraku. NOW.

He could hear Kagome whimpering slightly from the pains in her abdomen. 'Menstrual cramps,' he thought. 'Oh well... at least her heat is over.'

"Ne, Kagome," he said. "Since we're so close to the tower and all, why don't you give me a briefing of what we might be facing there?"

Kagome frowned, which went unnoticed since she was on Inuyasha's back. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," he replied, leaping sharply over a protruding tree root. "I want to hear about Naraku, the damn tower, the Shikon and the Shikon no Tama."

"Right now?"

"No, tomorrow. After we kill Naraku and all that," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well?"

"Ok, ok! Sheesh... Let's start off with Naraku. He used to be one of the knights of the palace. A blue star, if you may. He was one of the best imperial guards because honestly, the man is an incredible fighter."

"Keh. Not better than me, I'm sure."

"Oh shut up. Anyway," Kagome continued. "He always gave me the creeps... quite a braggart, with a tainted aura. He was always trying to get me to notice him, if you catch my drift."

"Fucking lech. Did he make moves on you?"

"Oh, of course not. I was the princess and all, and one thing about that is, I can't be touched by any man. Literally. The power of the shikon, which I will be telling you about LATER," she said when Inuyasha started to interrupt. "It dispels strong surges of power whenever anyone of the opposite sex comes near enough to touch. The power surge sort of shocks any man whose powers are weaker than mine. And since I was the most powerful person here, no one can touch me."

"Ok, so how did he manage to abduct you?" Inuyasha inquired, keeping his eyes on the horizon, watching the approaching tower.

"Well, when he disappeared for about two years, I really started to worry. But then, he came back, and his aura had changed from tainted to a solid black. I sensed his power all over the place. My knights refused to let me fight him. But... He defeated all my knights," she choked on tears that were beginning to gather in her eyes.

Inuyasha panicked at the scent of tears. "Hey, you don't have to go on if..."

"No, it's ok," she replied. "He killed my brother, decked Sango and Miroku, gave Miroku that curse... then he approached me. The moment his hands touched my skin, I knew I wouldn't win. He was more powerful. I tried to fight him, but he knocked me unconscious, and the next thing I knew, I was a prisoner in the garnet tower."

Inuyasha ground his teeth together in fury. How dare he... "So, how did you get out?"

"He had put me in a dome that repelled my powers. It would not let me pass, but I figured out that it was the Shikon that it was blocking, not me. The Shikon is the power bestowed to every princess upon ascending the throne. So, I gathered the Shikon, and put it into the Shikon no Tama."

"Which is what?"

"The Shikon no Tama," she continued. "Ordinarily acts as a fuel to my power. But I have learned that if needed, I could use it as a sort of storage for the Shikon itself. The Shikon is what my holy powers as a princess is called. I summoned my powers into the gem, but right before I pulled them all in there, I used my last powers to call for you, and teleport out of the Garnet Tower."

"The girl in my dreams... it was you, calling me," Inuyasha mused. "You came to me in my dreams." At Kagome's nod, he continued. "So what happened after that?"

"Once I managed to store the Shikon in the Tama, I teleported out of the dome. I then camped out near the palace, waiting for you to come along. Of course, losing the Shikon from inside me made me just another priestess with a good blast of reiryoku. I could be touched, I couldn't pray for the land, and I had to watch helplessly as the land began to whither. But I HAD to get away. I made the Shikon sensitive to evil powers, so it would respond whenever Naraku was around. It kept him thinking that it was still me in the dome for a while."

"That would explain why he didn't figure out that the princess was missing," he said, but then something occurred to him. "But after you got out, why didn't you just return to the palace and show Miroku that you were ok? Why did you leave them to worry about that?"

"Well, for one, I wanted to somehow be able to help you fight Naraku," she said. "He owes me for killing Souta, and I knew that if I went back to the palace, they wouldn't let me fight with you. Plus, you being from another land, would be unfamiliar with certain things that not even Miroku, a man who grew up here, would know. I know almost everything about this land, so I knew I could be the only one to help you."

"So you posed as an archer and cat burglar to get me to keep you with me."

"Hai. I was taught by my father how to use a bow since I could walk, since he thought, being the future princess, I had to somehow learn to defend myself. I never really stopped training. I always shot in private back in the palace whenever I had the chance. I wish otou could see how good I got... but it's not like it matters."

"Why not? Is he dead?"

"No, but he doesn't remember me. He doesn't even know that he had a daughter named Kagome and a son named Souta. He had been so proud of me, gloating to everyone that his daughter and son bore star marks, and I was the future princess. We didn't really know that he wasn't supposed to remember us once we were seated. Once a star-bearer is taken into the palace, all memories of that person are erased from the minds of those who knew him. Same goes for me."

"That's terrible! Nobody should be kept from their family! Anyway, what about that prophecy thing? Is that the book I saw beside your throne the day I got to Crystallia? The thick black one? And how did I get a mark? I'm not from here," Inuyasha inquired.

"The thick black book is the Book of the Prophecy. I don't know the reason, but I am only allowed to read that book one page per week. That's why though I am knowledgeable about most things, there are still some things I am not to know til much later. The prophecy doesn't state what actually happens... It reveals the secrets of Crystallia, and the forces within," she answered. "I don't know the outcome of anything, but from that book, I will know how to counter unbecoming things. And as for you having the mark... I have yet to get to that page. I think I was just about to start on that chapter when I was kidnapped."

"Oh, I think I get it," Inuyasha said, pausing for a moment to regard just how close they were to the Garnet Tower. "We're close, Kagome. And I could smell so many scents from here. Most of them aren't so good. Hold on to me, ok? This is gonna be a damn rough ride

"Chikuso!"

The frustrated swearing pulled Miroku from his less than fitful sleep. The previous day had been rough and tiring, and uncomfortable as he was, tied up to a wall, the exhaustion had claimed his senses soon after...

Miroku felt his cheeks heat up as he remembered... he and Sango... they had finally admitted their feelings to one another. And as annoying as it was that he couldn't even kiss her after the admittance (as he had always dreamed of doing), the thought had put him into enough ease that he had actually fallen asleep right after Sango nodded off.

Hmph. They had finally 'fessed up, but they were still slow if compared to Inuyasha and Aza- er, Kagome. From what he had gathered, they had already gone waaaay past kissing. Inuyasha, that lucky bastard!

He looked up as he heard the clinking of chains and more swearing coming from his girlfriend. "Sango? What is going on?" he asked as he blinked his eyes rapidly in an effort to help them adjust to the darkness.

"Miroku? You're awake?"

"Oh, no, I'm talking to you in my sleep," he answered. "What are you doing, Sango-chan?"

"I'm trying to slip out of these chains. We have to get free sometime," she replied as she went back to work.

"Oh," Miroku said oh-so-articulately. "Wish I had thought of that. But Sango, these chains are skin tight! You can't slip out without harming your lovely skin."

"Maybe on you," she said. "They're a bit more loose on me, so I grunt just groan might be... able to! Argh!"

"But..."

"And as for my skin," she interrupted. "There isn't a part of me that isn't already bruised, so I don't have a problem with that."

"But what will you do if you indeed get out of those chains?"

"I don't know, ok?" she snapped. "Maybe I'll try to help YOU get out of yours."

Miroku's eyes had adjusted to the dark by now, and he stared at Sango as she continued to fidget with her chains. He sighed in defeat before turning to his own chains.

"I guess you're right. We have to get free and grunt maybe get out of this place to find Inuyasha and Kagome."

Sango paused. "Oh... you have already met up with them, haven't you? How are they?"

"They are quite fine. And allow me to say that those two are a lot 'closer' than we would have anticipated."

"Nani? You mean..."

"They are an item, if you catch my drift."

"Oh!" Sango exclaimed, distracted enough to suddenly quit her work. "Why the heck didn't Kagome tell me?! Oh, she is sooo gonna get it! And... Oh my... So... that's why Inuyasha got furious about the glitch! It would give him a shorter time to be with Kagome!"

"Oh," Miroku said. 'I guess Inuyasha isn't so lucky after all.' "We have no time to lose, then. Let's hurry and get these gods be damned contraptions off our hands!"

"Hai! Hayaku, Miro-chan! Hurry up!"

"You called me 'Miro-chan', my dove?"

"Drop it, Miroku. Hurry up!" Sango exclaimed as she worked on her binds with a newfound determination.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

A hoarse yell came from the last of the dozen youkai that had been attacking them as it slowly disintegrated. Kagome was still holding on to her bow, a glowing arrow notched up in case any more youkai decided to spring and launch an attack against them.

Now that the action was over, a horrible scent suddenly filled her nose. She placed a hand over her nose and mouth as she put her weapon away, wondering what could possibly have such an ungodly odor. A sound off to her right made Kagome turn, and a surprised gasp escaped her as she saw Inuyasha on his knees, retching out the contents of his stomach.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, running over to him with a hand still over her nose. He straightened as she approached, before pulling her to him and burying his nose in her hair.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, the disgusting scent forgotten as she wrapped her arms around him. He was breathing shallowly, but he seemed to be trying to inhale as much of her scent as possible. "Inu, what is going on?"

"Horrible... the scent is horrible!" he said, muffled by her shoulder pressed against his face.

"I know, I smell it too, but..." she trailed off as she realized. Inuyasha was extremely sensitive to smells, and if the smell was horrible to her, it must have been nauseating for him.

He looked up then, and slowly stood, pulling her against him and instructing her to ride on his back. Kagome grimaced slightly as she saw the large diagonal wound that Inuyasha was now sporting on his back. She looked up cautiously as she climbed up his back, wincing as she saw the sun begin to set.

Oh why, why, why did those stubborn youkai have to attack them when Inuyasha was almost human?

They could see the tower clearly from their position on the hill they had been battling on, but the grounds surrounding it was shrouded in what appeared to be dark mist.

Both would bet that the smell came from down there.

Inuyasha set off again, an arm against his face to block out the dizzying smell. It was horrible, and as they quickly descended, landing firmly at the bottom of the hill, they finally found where the horrible stench was coming from.

Kagome gagged at the sight before her. About a hundred mangled, rotten bodies lay on the field a few meters before them, starving vultures and birds of prey feeding on their remaining flesh. Inuyasha turned away, holding his hand tightly over his nose as the horrible scent of decay threatened to overwhelm him. Just a few hundred meters beyond the field of decaying bodies stood the Garnet Tower, surrounded by a nearly translucent red dome.

Kagome looked down at the hanyou carrying her, noticing with unease that he looked a little green. She herself could feel bile begin to rise in her throat, but she stubbornly tamped it down as she slid off Inuyasha's back.

"Kagome, where are you going? Oi!" Inuyasha called as she began to walk away from him. His voice was muffled by the sleeved arm that had yet to leave his nose.

Kagome refused to acknowledge him as she walked towards a bunch of bodies, examining them critically as she tried to hold in her breath.

"Naraku," she whispered venomously. "Naraku killed all these people."

"What?"

"He killed all these people," Kagome continued, making her way back to Inuyasha. "Look at them," she gestured to a nearby corpse, whose decaying body revealed that his head had been almost completely severed from his neck, leaving only a tiny amount of sinew to hold it there. "This is Naraku's horrible killing style. His trademark, so to speak. He would kill a person, leaving him 'nearly headless', as he likes to say."

Inuyasha held back another round of retches as he pulled his arm away from his nose. "This is... heartless. Who are all these people?" he asked, noticing that they all seemed to be wearing similar outfits. "Imperial guards?"

"Yes. I didn't know they were here. I had wondered about what happened to the guards stationed here. When I left the dome, I had teleported out of the tower and appeared on the teleportation pod near the palace," she said, referring to the the platform Inuyasha had appeared on when Sango brought them to Crystallia. "Gods, these men all died before anybody managed to inform the palace what was going on."

"I can't imagine anybody doing this. This is a complete massacre..." Inuyasha replied, looking at the corpses with a mix of disgust and utter pity. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in anger. "And this has got to stop."

The Shikon no Tama pulsed violently, the dark red tint momentarily lighting up, before the bloody hue overtook it once again. Naraku grinned as he stared at the jewel, which looked terribly conflicted by the way the colors rapidly pulsed.

Naraku's evil, and Azalea's purity both seem to be drawing hard on the jewel. She was near, and he could feel it. The jewel could feel it. Her pure heart was trying to envelope the hatred and bitterness he had placed into the jewel, trying to purify the corruption he had appended into the holy tool.

"Naraku-sama," soft voice called from the doorway of his chambers. "Inuyasha and Azalea are almost upon the castle."

"Good," he replied, standing as he slowly put the raging Shikon no Tama into a fold of his robes. "Call upon Kagura. It is time."

"YES!!!" Sango cried, wrenching her throbbing right hand free of its chain. She rubbed her abused wrist with her still bound left hand, Giving Miroku a small smile as he grinned at her in congratulations.

"One hand to go, Sango," he said cheerfully, still unable to slip out of his own binds.

Sango gave him a big smirk, before gleefully flexing her free hand, making a short scythe spring out from beneath her tight sleeve. She then slashed off her other shackles, before leaning down to undo her feet.

"Tada!" she said proudly as she marched towards the bewildered monk.

"Wow. I didn't know that was there, Sango-chan," Miroku said in amazement. "You hide some mean weapons in that outfit."

"I'm a taijiya. Or I was, at least, and I need as many weapons as I can get," she replied, slashing off Miroku's shackles before giving him a short, almost shocking kiss on the lips.

Miroku was shocked to find himself blushing.

He cleared his throat to divert the attention from his flushed cheeks. "So... where did you get your outfit? You can't tell me they were the same ones you wore to the palace six years ago."

"Of course not!" Sango replied with a grin. "These were my mother's."

"Your mother? I don't believe you have ever told me about your mother," Miroku said as they walked towards the door of their cell.

"You're right. I will, after we defeat Naraku and get the Shikon back. And that's not an IF."

Both peeked out through the bars, trying to see if there were any guards around, and were rather shell-shocked to find all the corridors empty. Not to mention, completely silent.

"What's going on? Where are all the guards?" Miroku asked in a hushed voice.

"Who cares? The more people there are, the harder to get out," Sango replied as she maneuvered to get her weapon between the locks of the cell.

"But Sango, doesn't this mean that there may be a lot of things going on beyond our knowledge? Maybe Inuyasha-sama and Kagome-sama have finally reached the tower," Miroku said hopefully as Sango popped the cell door open.

"We can hope," Sango replied. "But for now, Miroku, we need to find our weapons."

The sun hung dangerously low on the horizon as Kagome made her way through the field of bodies slowly, being careful not to step on any part of any of the mangled bodies. Inuyasha trailed behind her, his nose buried in his sleeves. Kagome was careful not to disturb anything in further fear of fumes, since her companion had the tendency to pass out at extreme scents.

Ha... one thing she had a stronger resistance against than him. Ironic that scent was the thing that Inuyasha mostly used to get by, but it was also the thing that could deck him most easily.

Kagome walked on, spotting a rather conspicuous looking spot in the middle of the corpses. It was as if the soldiers had stood around that particular spot before they were brutally massacred. Inuyasha stopped right behind her, looking around, figuring as she was that they may be standing at the exact same place were Naraku stood as he finished off the imperial guards.

A sudden shiver crept up Kagome's spine, and she instinctively looked up.

"Inuyasha, look!" Kagome pointed up as she noticed a single, white feather, slowly falling from nowhere. She and Inuyasha watched, struck dumb, as it landed on one of the dead bodies close to her.

At the exact moment it landed, strong winds blew through the field, wildly throwing about smaller fragments and decaying clothing into a whole tornado of dark, swirling jyaki.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Inuyasha yelled, dropping his arm from his nose as he rushed towards Kagome, pulling her close with an arm as the other went to the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

"I don't know! This wind! It's... Oh, gods!" Kagome cried, pointing a bit away.

"What?!" Inuyasha asked, turning to look in the direction of Kagome's horrified eyes. "Kami-sama..."

The swirling winds of jyaki was passing over all the dead bodies, and it seemed to be reviving each one – except for the fact that the bodies remained their rotten, decayed selves.

The mangled corpses were rising to their feet, heads hanging by only the thinnest thread of tissue. Some have decayed so badly that the heads fell off as they began to stand, to be crushed by the pounding footsteps of its own body.

Kagome was pale with horror, Inuyasha nearly green with disgust. The skin and lean that hung weakly from the dried dead bones were falling off, leaving behind the corpses a trail of crumbled filth as they slowly walked towards the huddled pair.

"This is not good... this is not sanitary..." Inuyasha mumbled as he pulled out Tetsusaiga. Something seemed off, though, and he looked at his sword. It took him only a moment to figure out what it was.

"Kuso!" he spat angrily, tearing his gaze away from the old katana in his hand.

"Inuyasha, Tetsusaiga isn't transforming!" Kagome cried, clutching one sleeve of his haori as she stared alternately between his battered katana and the approaching zombies. Both looked up to find that the sun was by now barely peeking through the far-off mountain ranges.

"What a fucking bad time for the damn sun to set!" Inuyasha said, pulling back his sleeves after putting Tetsusaiga back in its scabbard, readying himself for the undoubtedly repulsive battle. "I can't use Tetsusaiga without my youki... might as well do hand-to-hand."

"Ee. Be careful, Inu-chan."

"Take care of yourself... koishii."

Both turned away from each other, pushing slightly against the other's back as they assessed their enemies. Kagome couldn't help the revolted shudder that passed through her spine as she watched a particularly distorted corpse making its way toward her, its moth-bitten eyes lolling out of their sockets as the head hung limply on thin sinews of muscle around its neck.

Her disgust turned to guilt as her eyes headed south to its chest, and upon seeing his name patch, she realized that the corpse she was now eyeing with disdain was one of the guards she had particularly enjoyed speaking with on lazy afternoons in the palace.

Inuyasha though, had no other thoughts other than utter and absolute abhorrence of the undead monsters walking towards them. His lips curved up into a snarl as pulled a hand back to strike at his first victim.

He lunged forward as the first zombie came into range. He immediately headed for the chest, intending to pull out whatever he could and hope that it disables the monster. It teetered as he pulled out a rotted, still heart from its chest, but it kept advancing and he was left with no choice but to try and mutilate the lot in the hopes that they would stop attacking if they were only toe-sized.

Kagome notched up an arrow as she heard Inuyasha give his trademark snarl before attacking. She fired the moment she felt him leave her side, pinning three corpses with one arrow as she did.

The headless zombie that was pinned most upfront pulled a hand back, and pulled the arrow out of their bodies, and Kagome choked as a glob of blackened ooze squirted from their chest. The zombie threw the arrow aside, advancing towards her as his feet unsteadily clanked against one another as he struggled to walk.

"Sankon Tetsusou!" Inuyasha yelled from behind her, and Kagome noted that he was using the good old "whack it until it stops moving" routine. But she couldn't possibly do that...

"Kya!" she exclaimed as one nasty-looking fellow with green goo coming out of its eye reached for her arm. She pulled her arm free, shuddering with repulsion.

She noticed that most of them were now beginning to move faster, and seemed to have been alerted to the fact that they carried weapons with them. She used her bow to fend them off, hacking off any part within reach.

"Shit," Inuyasha cursed as he dodged a sword that had been aimed for his head. It seemed the zombies wanted another member to their "nearly headless troop". He grabbed the offending sword from the creature in front of him, gagging at the putrid scent and the view of its pecked-out nose.

Seeing that Tetsusaiga was useless for now, he had to resort to drastic measures... even if it meant taking from a dead soldier. Oh well... dead people won't be missing their stuff, anyway.

"INUYASHA!"

Kagome's shout cut through his thoughts, and he turned around to see a large zombie looming behind him, a large battle axe aiming for his head.

"Seibai!" Miroku finished off the last of the five guards in the armory, all of whom were blank-faced neko-youkai.

Sango gave him a thumbs-up as she retrieved the last of her many weapons from the storage, and he gave her a win as he signaled for them to head out.

"Where do we go now?" Sango asked. She had been the one to let them out, but it seemed Miroku rather knew his way around the garnet tower. Perhaps from the scriptures?

"We turn right, then we..."

"Help your comrades," a soft but authoritative voice sounded from behind them, making them both twirl around with their weapons at the ready.

"Where are you?" Sango demanded.

"Right here, taijiya," the voice replied, stepping out of the shadows, and Sango immediately recognized the flowing red kimono and the ruby lips.

"Kagura!" Miroku said angrily. "What do you want?"

"I want you to get out of here, now."

Both blinked at the youkai. "Nani?"

"You were saying, you had to turn right, ne, houshi? If you turn right, you will be heading right into Naraku's chambers, which will be pointless since he isn't in there," Kagura said with an air of one explaining that two plus two equals four. "You haven't been reading your books too well. You turn left. That will lead you to the back doors."

Miroku thought for a moment, though he kept his attention on the wind youkai. "Oi... she's right, Sango," he whispered to his girlfriend.

"Nani?" Sango said in surprise.

"Of course, I'm right! I live here!" Kagura said in exasperation. "Inuyasha and Azalea are in danger, fighting for their lives right outside the palace's front doors. Now are you leaving or not?"

Sango could contain herself any longer. "You are our ENEMY! What are you telling us this for?"

"I am not obliged to reveal my reasons to you," Kagura replied snippily. "But I am telling you, you should get out of here before it is too late. This night... Inuyasha will not make it by sunrise if you do not hurry."

They immediately turned left.

Inuyasha jumped back, but he knew he was a fraction too late and would get a bad headache out of this at the least.

"HIRAIKOTSU!"

The sudden shout, accompanied by a flying monstrosity of a boomerang shot through Inuyasha's senses, throwing him for a loop as he watched the axe fall to the monster's feet as the zombie's torso was chopped off his body.

He looked up as the boomerang whizzed by in an arc, returning to its wielder.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome cried tiredly from somewhere behind him. "Miroku-sama!"

Both were running towards the exhausted pair, Sango spinning her weapon around like it weighed nothing, Miroku holding out his shakujou as he swung it in an arc, the pair effectively tearing a path of mangled undead beings.

Inuyasha leapt towards Kagome as they approached, using his claws on the monsters that dared come near.

"Inuyasha, Kagome, duck and cover your faces!" Sango yelled, holding up a dark, fizzing ball that she was aiming in their direction.

Both did as they were told, and Sango threw the bomb a ways away from them. The ball exploded in a show of light and smoke, showing nothing but blasted, rotten body parts as the fog cleared.

Miroku and Sango finally reached Kagome and Inuyasha, and the girls gave each other a small hug accompanied by excited squeals before turning back to the task at hand. Inuyasha gave Miroku an impromptu high five.

"I'm so glad you're both ok!" Kagome said happily even as she let loose a particularly fueled spirit arrow and eliminated at least five of their undead foes.

"Ee, me too Kagome-chan!" Sango said, panting through her teeth as she crushed another zombie with her Hiraikotsu. "But you have a lot of explaining to do once this is over!"

"I know!"

Miroku and Inuyasha were a bit ahead, clearing a path towards the Garnet Tower's front doors. Inuyasha was using his claws and stolen sword on their decaying opponents, Miroku using his shakujou and occasionally, his wind tunnel. The latter weapon rather unnerved the hanyou, who, being beside him, felt the pull of the Kazaana every time it was used.

Miroku stepped up before the closed doors as they reached it, and Inuyasha shouted for the girls to hurry up.

"Save the chit-chat for later! Come on!"

The monk opened the heavy doors with a grunt, motioning for everyone to rush in, before he and Inuyasha shut the door in the zombies' faces.

Nobody noticed that the sun had set the moment they went through the doors.

Inuyasha though, felt the transformation as it seemed to take its time flitting through his body. Kagome noticed too, when she saw that Inuyasha's hair was beginning to turn black.

"Inuyasha! Now?" Kagome said worriedly, kneeling down as the weakened hanyou dropped to his hands and knees before them.

"Inuyasha?! What..." Sango exclaimed when she noticed the changes occurring.

"Why, didn't you know, Sango?!" a voice chuckled from above them, right as the last hair on Inuyasha's head bled black, and his ears moved down his head.

"Naraku!" Miroku shouted, brandishing his staff before him as Sango stood at a protective stance before Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Tonight, I have you all right where I want you," Naraku chuckled as he floated down from the higher parts of the tower to stand a few meters away from them. "Tonight... the pathetic hanyou you have chosen to stand against me shall fall..."

Inuyasha slowly stood up, Kagome supporting his wobbly stance at his side as Naraku continued to gloat.

"He shall fall before me... As nothing but a powerless human."

A/N: Ehehe... prepares to dodge tomatoes and eggs being aimed her way Gomen! But never despair! I have the next chapter written down already!

Responses!!!

Kagome: Oh, haha! Don't get confused! You'll get it soon!

Megu-sama: Here's the update! Glad you liked it!

Hannie-K: Thanks for the compliments. Here's the next chap!

Rika: 30 TIMES?! Wow! That's astonishing... I mean, this fic is long! I'm glad you like it that much. Here's the update, and don't worry... the end you wanted will be less that five updates away...

Litwolf689: Don't die! You're one of my favorite reviewers! And it's ok to forget... I have that tendency real bad. Darn memory. Anyway, here's the update!

C4n4di4nG1r1535: Secret! If I tell you that, you'll know the ending! Anyway, here's the next part. Ja!

Newfie/B.C Girl: I hope you got my email. And yeah, I will finish this. Thanks again!

Kinara: Thanks!

Call Me Shiggy: Here's the update! I'm glad you like my fic.

Taijiya-Sango88: Here's the next chap! Arigatou!

Maymay323: Thanks!

Laku: Killed?! Oh no, I don't think so. Here's the next chap. Thanks for the review!

Meowz: I wasn't originally planning to fit Shippou in here, but I guess I will give him a small role, just for you!

Paulina: Sige read mo rin! Hehe... Ok lang yun, textmate. And thanks, I'm glad you think na matino akong writer, unlike yung bastos na medyo lukaret na nag-flame sakin. Bye!

Ixchen: Thanks!

Dragon's Kitty: Nice new name! Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

StarrFire3: Well... hehe... THAT was how it turned out. I hope you liked it!

Fetchboy84: Haha! How shocking it must have been for you to find out about the 69 thing! And you're writing a new fic? I'll be sure to check it out once I have spare time. I'm glad you like my fic. Ja!

Ryngrl5: I'm glad you liked it! And I agree, school is one big bother. I can't wait til I'm out of it. But, oh yeah, then I'll have to work. TT Good luck with your own fic, and I'll check it out too, once I have the time!

InuyashaKagome2: Sigh... my vacation just ended last June 7th. Dang. I'm glad you liked it!

Midoriko-sama: Hehe... thanks again for the jacket. It really helped against my first big flame from last chappy. You know what was funny though? The guy claimed to really hate the fic, but managed to read it all the way to chapter28. Strange, ne? Somebody said it was bordering on stupid. Anyway... may I know where you got your jacket? I think I may need one of my own right about now... Thanks so much for the review! You have no idea how much I appreciate your reviews. I mean, I'm also a fan of your work!

Rikishi: Yeah, I have an idea for a new San/Mir fic, but I'm not gonna post it yet. Gotta finish this one first! And on Summer Slam... I really can't stand Kane, the raping hentai. I'm a sucker for John Cena though drools.

Guardian Angel of ALL Anime: Gomen for the long gaps between updates. Hehe... it's kinda hard since my life has been kinda going downhill. I'm glad you liked my chapter, and hey, I promise to make Inu ang Kag's problem work out!

Lilmissy: Glad you liked it! At syempre, nice and slow for our good old Naraku! Yung cage, sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam e. Hehe... Siguro. Hindi ko na kasi napag-isipan yun. Ok lang, hindi naman importante yun e! And don't cry! Akong bahala, magkakatuluyan yung dalawa! Pero baka matagalan... hint

TheWraith: Ah! Teruo's too late! I have just been flamed! But it's ok, I guess... It's my first real flame, anyway. All the other ones I got before were the 'update now you stupid bitch' type. Haha, and I called those flames. And wow, your idea was EVIL?! Dang! Too bad I didn't get to ask you for it. Looks around at other angry readers Hehe... I mean... Never mind. This will be ending soon, I'm afraid. But at least you'd all get to see how it all ends at last, right?

The Literary Dragon: Oh dear... your plan is infinitely close to my original plan. Here's a cookie! Hands over cookie I baked it myself! Anyway, he has three turning two days left. Short time, ne? And actually, I like happy endings, too hint, hint.

Taramagick: I'm glad you like it!

AnimeObsessionFantasy: Hehe... What is it with anime couples taking so long to admit that they like each other?!

InuyashaGirlie: I'm glad you liked my chapter that much! I guess I kinda find that part funny too. And yes, please check them out as well! Thank YOU for reviewing!

Well, that's all I have time for today! Thank you for reading, and please, read and review! Reviews make me think and type faster. Hint, hint. Ja ne!

ScarletRaven1001


	30. The New Moon Part 2

A/N: As I post this I am dreading my first class for the day. I will be heading off to my first class (Speech 133...ugh!) by 8am, which I had NOT initially signed up for... I signed up for the 10am class, and the stupid school computers went and screwed up the registration giving me the early class instead. Stupid archaic school computers...

Also, I know I said this chap had been finished by the time I posted the last chapter, and it WAS, but unfortunately, my own computer had to go incognito on me, and crashed for a reason even I have yet to understand. Pentium 4 sucks... I should have stayed with my old Pentium 2.

So, I therefore conclude that technology sucks.

Anyway, I will now begin fuming silently all by myself, while you guys read this chapter.

Note: Thanks a lot to my friend TheWraith for his help with this chapter. God knows I wouldn't have been able to get this out without him. This one's for you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. But if I were given the chance to own it, heck, why not?!

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

The New Moon – Part 2

oooooooooo

Inuyasha stared defiantly up at Naraku, clenching his fists as the wounds he had acquired during the earlier fights pulsed painfully with every breath. He knelt down to retrieve the sword he stole from the dead soldier without taking his eyes off Naraku, tightly holding it as he struggled to stand again. Kagome stood beside him, slightly supporting him. "You had better think twice, Naraku, because human or not, I swear I am gonna tear you to pieces."

Naraku just cackled. "And how do you propose you will do that? This shall be ever so sweet dear Inuyasha... You fought so valiantly to save the kingdom and protect the woman you love but now your life will end all because of your human side's fatal flaw in timing. Oh how I do enjoy the irony of it all."

The hanyou-turned human glared at him, but Inuyasha knew that his chances of winning against Naraku were very slim. He could almost taste Naraku's jaki all around the tower, so strong it was nearly suffocating. And from the way his comrades were looking, not even their combined strengths would stand a chance.

Miroku was bleeding from his side, and Inuyasha noticed for the first time that he was holding Shakujou in his left hand. His right arm was rather limp on his side, and on retrospect, he could remember that Miroku only used his left arm as they fought the zombies outside.

Sango wasn't looking too good, either, her face smeared with dirt, and a patch of cloth missing from her leg revealed a deep, bloody cut. Kagome, who glared evilly at Naraku, had her hair plastered to her face, taking in shallow breaths as she held him.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and find out, ne?" Inuyasha smirked. It was one thing to think they couldn't win, but it was another thing to actually admit it. He pulled himself away from Kagome, standing as cockily as he possibly could, tightening his hold on the katana.

Naraku shrugged, before he pulled out a small pouch from within his kimono. He slowly untied it, and dropped its contents into his hand, laying out his palm for them to see.

Kagome, Miroku and Sango all gasped, nearly identical looks of horror on their faces. Inuyasha looked quizzically at the glowing red orb in the center of Naraku's palm. Looking between Naraku's smug grin and the looks his comrades were giving him, he put two and two together, breathing in before asking hesitantly. "That's the Shikon no Tama, ne Kagome?"

Naraku laughed then, pulling the friends out of their stunned silence, having them all turn heated glares in his direction. "Did you really think that I could not manage to use the Shikon no Tama, Azalea? I have, after all, unlocked this tower."

Kagome snapped out of her slight daze. "Pure evil is not supposed to touch the Tama, Naraku," she said bravely, though Inuyasha noticed a slight quiver in her voice. "Just give that back to me! Why are you doing this? Did we do you wrong?"

"You should have just said yes, when I asked you. There was only one thing I wanted, one thing that made me do this..." Naraku began.

"Naraku, you know that I couldn't do that!" Kagome shrieked in frustration. "I am the princess! I am not supposed to have a husband, or a lover! Besides, I told you, I don't love you!"

"You didn't give me a chance! I only wanted you, Azalea! But you never even tried to look at me, did you?" Naraku accused bitterly. "If the reason is that you were so dedicated to your work, then tell me... why did you give yourself to Inuyasha?"

Kagome paled. "What has that got..."

"Enough of this!" Inuyasha suddenly shouted from beside her. "Naraku, she never gave you the chance because she couldn't, and she doesn't love you. She loves ME! Besides, did you really think that forcing her into being with you would have made her happy?!"

"She was supposed to be mine!"

"Kagome was never yours, you bastard!"

Naraku suddenly let out an angry, almost inhuman howl as he lunged at Inuyasha, holding the Shikon no Tama in his left hand while his right concentrated a dark-hued energy into a fiery ball of youki.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he dove to the side as Naraku landed, throwing the ball of youki right at the spot where he had been standing. He swung the sword as widely as he could, but the tip of the rather short blade barely even reached Naraku.

Miroku whipped out an ofuda as Naraku came within throwing range, furiously aiming it at him. The houriki he had used must have warned Naraku though, as he immediately dodged and leapt back to the spot he had occupied before he lunged at Inuyasha.

The group watched in horror as great vines sprouted out from beneath Naraku's bellowing robes, heading straight for each of the members of their group.

Kagome shrieked in surprise as she pushed off, narrowly dodging the tentacle that had nearly impaled her thigh. She instinctively reached back to take an arrow out of her quiver, and paled when she realized that she only had two arrows left.

Inuyasha dove and flattened himself to the ground, muttering curses as the tentacles shot out only a few inches above his head. Had he been hanyou it would have been easier to jump up and avoid them... but he wasn't.

Sango swung her Hiraikotsu at the approaching vines, yelling out for Miroku to duck as she did so. The monk veered off to the side as one of the things headed for him, before ducking back as the parts that Sango had severed went flying off in his direction.

The group had scattered across the place without their realization, and were now recognizing the danger they had unwittingly placed themselves in. Regrouping was impossible, as the path that separated them was lain with Naraku's vines.

Kagome, who was only good in long-range combat, had been steered to only a few feet from Naraku. Inuyasha stood a few feet in front of Sango, which kept the latter from releasing her Hiraikotsu. Miroku was pushed back into a corner, furiously whipping at the offending tentacles as he tried to keep an eye on Sango.

They were all worn from the zombie attack, and Miroku knew that using his wind tunnel in his condition would increase the chances of his getting sucked in. Not to mention, they were in too confined a room for it. None of them were in the best condition to fight, and Miroku suspected that the zombies had been placed there not to keep them away from the palace, but to wound and wear them out so thoroughly that Naraku would gain the upper hand.

Inuyasha stood on rather wobbly legs as he furiously threw the short katana at Naraku like a spear, as if desperately hoping that it will hit. He was not the least bit surprised when it rebounded as if hitting a wall, and he realized that not only had he not detected the barrier, he had also foolishly lost the only weapon he had at the moment.

He placed a hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt for a moment, trying to come up with a plan, but drawing a blank. 'Keh... this is pathetic,' Inuyasha thought as only one thing came to mind after his brain-wracking – get to Kagome.

He eyed the vines surrounding him with open disdain, cringing when they intertwined only to try to snap the other into pieces. Crouching, he set his sights on a particular cluster that was repeatedly revealing a gap that he could get through to get to Kagome if it only got a bit wider.

Waiting on bated breath, Inuyasha readied himself to make a run for the gap. A few more contractions of the vines did the trick, and as fast as he could, Inuyasha darted through the gap, throwing himself near Kagome with a shout.

"Oh, no you don't!" Naraku yelled, making the writhing masses of indistinguishable flesh head for Inuyasha like tens of massive spears.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as he came crashing down beside her, and she helped pull him up as some of the tentacles tried to wrap themselves around him. Gathering her purifying powers into the palm of her hand, Kagome unleashed a ball of energy with a furious battle cry, slumping against Inuyasha as she felt the burn of her own reiryoku leaving her through her hands.

"Kag! Are you alright?!" he asked when he saw her slump over.

"I'll be ok... are you crazy? Why did you dive down like that?" she scolded him even as she tried to get up. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Miroku and Sango following Inuyasha's example – fighting off the vines so they could regroup.

"I had to get to you, stupid wench. What are we gonna do?" Inuyasha asked, pulling out Tetsusaiga as more of Naraku's tentacles came within range. He struck out at them angrily, grinning when some got cut in half by only the power of his sword's natural barrier.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled as she approached, presenting a vivid warrior queen image with parts of the vines flying all around her.

Leaping over a particularly nasty vine, she landed before the pair with a shout, instructing them to keep their heads down as she swung Hiraikotsu in a wide arc. The vine slowly retracted, and Inuyasha and Sango took that chance to stir Kagome away from their place near the evil demon.

Miroku, panting and sporting several tears in his robes, went to join them, slinging Shakujou over his left shoulder. "We have to get the Shikon no Tama," he breathed as they all watched Naraku retreat to a particularly dark corner of the tower, bringing his vines with him.

"Miroku-sama is right. The power he gained from this tower is bad enough... him gaining control over the Shikon is even worse," Kagome added. She pointed in the direction Naraku had disappeared to. "We have to go after him!"

"No! It's obviously a trap!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Then what should we do?" she replied.

"Kagura!" Sango's shout made them all look up, only to find the said woman approaching them opposite from where Naraku had gone. "What do you want?"

The wind-user was pale, and unlike her usual jaunty stance, the woman stood on wobbly legs, and her hands were unconsciously groping around as if looking for something to hold on to that would keep her from collapsing.

To everyone's surprise, Miroku started toward her, reaching for the youkai just as she fell to the floor. "Kagura... your aura has grown so... weak."

Kagura nodded. "Naraku is trying to pull me back into himself. I... I came from him, as his detachment... and I would go back into him," she gasped, "And I don't want to."

"You helped us get to Inuyasha and Kagome... why?" Sango asked as she slowly approached.

"Because... I wanted to do something worthwhile before I die..."

Inuyasha raised a suspicious eyebrow, his arms still wound around Kagome. "What are you playing at? Do you expect us to believe you? To help you?"

"No..." Kagura replied. "But I expect you to beat Naraku."

"Kagura..." Kagome whispered, approaching the wind youkai. "You know... we barely stand a chance," she said tearfully.

"Yes you do," Kagura insisted, gasping as a sudden pain seized her, and the group realized that her legs appeared to be rapidly disappearing upwards. "You and Inuyasha... even without your Shikon, and his youki, you still have your purifying powers."

"Kagura..."

"Let me finish! I don't have much time!" she exclaimed, albeit weakly. "Naraku is a youkai... but at present, none of you are."

She reached for Inuyasha and Kagome's entwined hands as her torso began to dissolve into thin air as well. "And right now... that is your greatest advantage."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked, but Kagura kept her eyes solely on Inuyasha and Kagome even as her shoulders began to disappear.

"You give each other strength..." she said softly, a few tears leaking from her eyes. "And with that strength, you can defeat Naraku before the break of dawn."

They stared in puzzlement as Kagura completely disappeared, and Miroku made a small sign of blessing as her aura completely dissipated. "In the end... Kagura was actually on our side."

"She hated living... but she also hated the way she had to die..." Kagome stated. "We have to kill Naraku, guys. We really have to. Dammit!"

"Kagome," Inuyasha began, but Kagome continued, bursting into miserable tears.

"This is all my fault... I never should have left the Shikon with him..."

"Don't blame yourself, Kagome-chan!" Sango said. "You did all you could to keep Crystallia safe. Who would have known that Naraku could suddenly control the Shikon no Tama?"

"I should have! I..."

"Kagome, stop that!" Inuyasha shouted. "This is no one's fault! The only one at fault here is Naraku... and we have to make him pay."

"But first, we have to find him," Miroku interjected. "Let's go follow him. WE all know he may have a trap, but we really have no choice."

"We'll just have to be on high alert," Sango supplied. "And we have to get the Shikon no Tama from Naraku. It's the best thing we could do."

"Let's go," Inuyasha said determinedly, tugging on Kagome's arm. "We could do this, Kagome."

She nodded slowly, before the group set off to follow Naraku to where he had retreated.

oooooooooo

"Naraku-sama..." a soft, emotionless voice pleaded as crushing pain gripped her entire body. "Please don't..."

Naraku just grinned as he watched Kanna's body rapidly dissolving into nothingness. Her normally expressionless eyes were full of anguish, her mirror having fallen from her hands long before.

"Relax, Kanna... it will be just like when you had been born," he replied, feeling her and Kagura's strengths seeping into him as he absorbed them back into his body.

Kanna groaned feebly, sneaking a last glance into her mirror. She smiled, a tiny tilting of her lips as she saw her sister speaking to the group of fighters.

She was dying, but, "There is still hope..." she mumbled, before she was completely absorbed into her creator.

oooooooooo

"He's here," Miroku said softly as they approached a room within the depths of the castle. "I can feel his jaki... he has grown a lot stronger."

"Because of Kagura and Kanna," Sango whispered. "We have to go in, now."

"I'll get the door," Inuyasha volunteered, and he drew back his arm which still held Tetsusaiga, and slammed the hilt into the door handle. He kicked the doors open, immediately scanning the room for the demon.

The hall was a large, dome-shaped room with a high ceiling, curtains and drapes shrouding the room in shadow. The ground was blurred by miasma that swirled over it, and Inuyasha almost had to be thankful that it was the new moon.

"Naraku, show yourself!" Kagome commanded.

"Gladly," he replied, as a string of various youkai, and the tentacles from earlier, shot out at them from above. Naraku descended onto the center of the room as his attachments swarmed the four fighter, cackling as he watched them fight for their lives.

Kagome stuck to Inuyasha through the onslaught as Miroku and Sango immediately headed for the other side of the room together, where they stood almost directly in front of Naraku. She held onto a short katana, the same one that Inuyasha had taken from one of the zombies, that they had retrieved from the ground before leaving the front hall where they had earlier battled.

"You ready?" Inuyasha whispered, pulling out the battered Tetsusaiga.

"Yes," Kagome replied, forcing some of her powers into the sword she held. "Let's go."

Both turned to face their oncoming opponents, and with loud, angry cries, they charged at the youkai. Kagome kept her opponents at bay with a small spirit shield as she struck at the vines, while Inuyasha made use of Tetsusaiga and its scabbard in fending off his demons.

Sango and Miroku were holding well on their own, despite their marked injuries. Miroku struggled to wield and execute a proficient Seibai with his staff while using only his left hand, while Sango's impressive offense was rivaled only by her own defense.

They were all caught off-guard by the heavy gust of wind that came at them, reminiscent of Kagura's wind blades. Kagome shrieked as it cut through her skin, and Inuyasha quickly ran in front of her to protect her from the rogue spears.

Inuyasha turned his back on Naraku, pulling Kagome to himself and covering them both with his haori in an effort to protect them both. He looked over his shoulder to find Miroku and Sango still fighting with the youkai, seemingly not even minding the sting of the wind weapon.

He chanced a glance at the demon when the blades stopped raining down on them, and he noticed Naraku slowly slipping a shiny, small orb into a pocket of his clothing.

'If I could just grab hold of that stupid stone,' Inuyasha groused, before an insane idea popped into his head.

Holding his side against the pain of a new wound made by one of those blades, he quickly let go of Kagome, pushing her back just a little so his path to Naraku would be clear. With a new-found determination, he surged forward, clearing his way by coldly killing and whacking at whatever dared to block his way.

He could hear Kagome shouting at him to come back, but she was obviously being held back by the monsters she was dealing with.

Only a few more steps, and he would be upon Naraku. The youkai seemed to not even notice him as he approached from his side.

A few vines parted, giving Inuyasha enough space to dive through and grab the Shikon no Tama from within Naraku's robes. He lunged forward, his arm stretched out, ready to grab the orb once it came in contact with his hand.

He felt his hand close around something within Naraku's robes, but as he pulled his hand back, a sharp pain stabbed through his abdomen, violently ripping through his body, straight into his back.

Naraku turned to smirk at Inuyasha as his vision blurred from the pain. Inuyasha would have easily survived the strike, had he been hanyou, but with his human body, the pain was much more intense... the blow much more lethal.

"INUYASHA!!!" Kagome screamed as she watched her lover get impaled by one of the dreadful tentacles. She watched helplessly as Inuyasha slumped forward, his hands clenching in pain while he fought to keep conscious.

Naraku threw Inuyasha across the room, brutally pulling the sharp tentacle out of his body. The evil youkai laughed loudly as the three remaining combatants gasped in horror when Inuyasha was thrown off mercilessly.

Blood spilled from his abdomen as he sailed through the air, only stopping when he finally hit a solid wall. He crumpled against the wall, bringing his fisted hands up to instinctively push against the pain in his chest.

"No!" Kagome cried, slashing more furiously as she headed for Inuyasha's nearly unconscious form. Tears were blurring her sight, and she jumped when she suddenly found Sango beside her.

"I'll take care of these demons. Go to Inuyasha!" she instructed, and Kagome could only nod gratefully as she ran off.

She fell to her knees beside him, watching as he closed his eyes in agony. "Inuyasha! Gods... please be alright!" she shouted, the tears falling steadily down her cheeks.

"Kagome..." was all he could say as he struggled to open his eyes to look at her... for probably the last time. He took her hand in his, pressing their palms together. "Don't cry," he said, squeezing her hand in his. "I love you..."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome began, but was cut off when she felt his hand loosen its grip around her. His eyes closed, head falling limply to the side. "No..."

She could hear Naraku laughing, Sango shouting and Miroku cursing, but none of it made sense...

"Inuyasha... Inuyasha!" she screamed, shaking him with the hand he had not been holding. "No! You can't! Inuyasha, you have to wake up! I love you... Inuyasha!"

The tears fell more steadily, even as her throat closed up in grief. Memories of all the wonderful times they had together, of every fight they had together, flashed before her eyes, making her tiny frame wrack with sobs of agony as she repeatedly called his name to no avail. All the while, she never let go of his hand, hoping against hope that he would squeeze it again, open his eyes.

She refused to acknowledged what he mind was telling her, what she already knew but didn't want to believe.

She knew... gods, she knew... but something in her wouldn't let her accept...

Inuyasha... her love, her guardian, her bestfriend...

Inuyasha was dead.

oooooooooo

A/N: Cliffhanger? Hehehe... gomen. Ummm... don't kill me, please? If you kill me, you won't be able to read the last three chapters!

By the way, I heard ff(dot)net was deleting stories that answered reviews in them? Strange... but I'd rather be safe for now. So gomen, but no review responses this time.

Just a note, since I can't resist... someone seems to be psychic... That someone coughLiteraryDragoncough has some VERY good guesses on the next chapter... More cookies, dear? They're chocolate!...

Again, thanks to my "friend in evil writing", TheWraith, for his help with this chapter. That draft you sent me really got me going! Thanks again, Tim.

And a big THANK YOU, of course, goes to all the wonderful people who took a few minutes to review this story for me. Thank you all so much! Gives away hoarded Halloween candies There! I was gonna eat all of that, but since you guys are so good...

Bye, and until next chapter, guys! Ja! I hope you all enjoyed, and please, read and review!

ScarletRaven1001


	31. Rebirth

A/N: Ducks behind makeshift shields. Ehehe... what can I say... umm... sorry? Ducks as flying tomatoes whiz through the air. I said I was sorry! I'm sorry I left a sadistic cliffhanger. I'm sorry I took so long to update. I'm SORRY!!!

Anyway... I took so long because I had to prepare for a school pageant of sorts that I was unfortunately chosen to be a contestant in. I swear, my batchmates must have been either dumb or blind to choose me to represent them. Then, after the contest, I got the flu. Sigh

So to make up, here's a long, action-packed, third to the last chapter... Lots of things happened in this chapter, I have no idea how that came to be.

And... thanks again to TheWraith for all his help on this chapter. You rock, dude!

On with the chapter! Please read and review. Enjoy!

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

Rebirth

oooooooooo

"No..."

Kagome shook her head in denial, tears flying from the corners of her eyes and shining like tiny diamonds as they sailed through the thin air. A hand flew to her mouth, the other refusing to leave its place within Inuyasha's cold grasp.

She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the dam of tears that threatened to explode behind her lids, half hoping that when she opened them again, she would see him laughing at her for falling for his prank. Grim truth settled in when she opened her eyes again, only to gaze upon his bloodied face, lips partly open from the last breath he had taken only moments before.

The sounds of fighting behind her seemed to fade away as her world appeared to shrink, narrowing down into her and the corpse of her beloved. Her lips trembled as she lowered her lips to his, giving him a chaste kiss that she hoped he would somehow know she had given him.

She refused to let more tears fall... no... he hated it when she cried, and she would honor that. She picked up the Tetsusaiga that he still held limply in his other hand, placing the blade across his torso, hoping that its barrier will keep his body protected through the fight that she would have to finish without him.

"I'll avenge you, Inuyasha... I'll protect your soul... I won't allow you to have died in vain," she whispered as she slowly let his hand go.

But as she pulled her hand away, Kagome felt something roll out from between their clutched hands. Wiping her tears, she looked towards it, and let out a sharp gasp.

oooooooooo

"Ah!" Sango cried out in pain as one of the vines struck her arm, tearing a huge gash through her flesh. The sound of her friend's screams of agony ripped through her heart, and she knew without looking that Inuyasha had died.

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye, and she narrowed a fierce glare at Naraku. "Hiraikotsu!" she yelled releasing the boomerang at the laughing figure of their enemy before her. Her weapon cut through a lot of the vines, but as it whizzed back to her, Naraku let out a blast of youki that set it off its course, bringing it hurtling back towards her.

Sango gaped. Was it just her, or did that last youki attack look... watered down? She leapt aside to avoid her own weapon crashing into her. Her leap brought her to a few feet away from her previous position, where she had been blocking Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Sango! Kagome-sama is..." Miroku began to shout, but was cut off when Naraku decided to try to skewer him the way he did to the hanyou, releasing a ball of youki towards the monk at the same time. He leapt back, leaving the other pair completely open to Naraku's attacks.

Kagome was kneeling in front of Inuyasha, with her head down, and hands clasped tightly in front of her. Tears were slowly making their way down her cheeks, and it seemed she was completely preoccupied with her sad thoughts.

Naraku turned his glare to Kagome, a wicked smirk twisting its way onto his lips as he gathered a large amount of energy onto the palm of his hand.

Sango watched in horror as the youki concentration grew in size, and she realized with a sinking feeling that Naraku was aiming the ball at her friends. Neither she nor Miroku were close enough to rush over and fend for them... "Kagome!!!"

"No one else can have you, Azalea!" Naraku yelled as he furiously threw the blast at the pair.

"Kagome-sama, look out!" Miroku yelled as the blast zipped through the air towards the grieving princess.

Kagome turned in the direction of the blast at the last moment, meeting the blast head on. Sango screamed, covering her eyes in an effort to keep herself from watching her friends' demise, and Miroku stared, open-mouthed, as the youki reached her.

Naraku began laughing, an insane, proud and shrieking laugh as the explosion sent the floor around them rising off the ground as debris and cold ash. Smoke encompassed the place where Kagome had sat, sobbing for Inuyasha only moments before.

Sango had her face still covered with her palms, sobs ripping from her throat at what had just happened. She heard Miroku's staff drop onto the floor as he himself fell to his knees in shock.

"You have rejected me, Azalea," Naraku was saying, "And now you and your incompetent lover pay the price."

"You bastard!" Sango screamed, flinging her hands from her face as she drew a short katana from its place on her hip. "You will pay, Naraku!"

Right as she launched herself at the laughing demon, who was right then preparing to launch another attack, a very strong wave of power rushed through all of them, making them turn their heads towards the unexpected source. Naraku lost his smile.

oooooooooo

Transfixed, Sango, Miroku and Naraku stared as the smoke suddenly cleared from where Kagome and Inuyasha had been, leaving behind a barrier protecting a furious princess and the corpse of her lover. Her hands were fisted in Inuyasha's robes as she fixed a stony glare at Naraku, hatred and anger radiating from her form.

Naraku suddenly smirked. "I knew it would be a lot harder to kill you, Azalea..."

"Naraku..." she seethed. "I will never forgive you..."

"Come now, Azalea! He was about to leave anyway. I just speeded up the process... in all senses of the word," he grinned as Sango raised a shocked glare at him.

"You... you're responsible for the glitch forming in the portal!" she screamed.

"The portal... it is a spiritual gateway," Naraku remarked. "The Garnet Tower controls spirits. It was really easier to manipulate than I thought it would be..."

Kagome's eyes grew wide, before narrowing again in utter loathing at Naraku. "You have given me nothing but misery, Naraku," she said as she began to stand, leaving Inuyasha's side. She had placed both his arms over Tetsusaiga, his hands meeting in the middle of his torn abdomen, cupped over the remaining flesh. She stepped out of the barrier she had erected around his body, her face contorted in rage.

"You are too evil to even walk the earth..." Miroku declared, clutching his right hand to his chest. "You have caused us, and the whole of Crystallia, nothing but pain!"

"What's the matter monk? Didn't you like my gift?" Naraku taunted, floating away from the ground as he looked pointedly at Miroku's right hand.

"Naraku!" Kagome yelled, running towards him to stop his flight. She grabbed her fallen katana from the ground, swinging madly at him as he lifted himself out of her reach.

Naraku lifted his arms, once again laughing manically before bringing his arms down, together with a powerful gust of wind that shook the towers walls and caused large chunks of debris to hurtle towards his three opponents.

Miroku ran in Sango's direction when he saw Naraku begin to gather his youki once again. "Sango!" he yelled as he dove at her, pushing her to the ground and shielding her from the attack. The sharp chunks of material from the walls and ceiling fell upon his back, making him cringe in pain even as Sango shrieked his name in worry.

Kagome raised both her hands, eyes closed as she erected another banner, this time, around herself. The strain of trying to hold up two barriers at the same time was taking a toll on her, and she collapsed onto her knees, tears brimming in her eyes as she gasped in exhaustion.

She glanced back at Inuyasha, the Tetsusaiga and his cupped hands, before letting her eyes linger on his wound. A pained smile crossed her lips as she looked at him, praying, praying to all the gods she knew of that...

A loud crash tore Kagome's eye's from Inuyasha to Miroku, who had yelled in pain when a large block from the ceiling broke off to land on him. "Miroku-sama!" she shouted in worry at the same time as Sango, whose eyes were filling with tears.

She stood, desperately holding on to her barrier, walking determinedly towards the pair. She sank to her knees beside them, making her shield large enough to cover all three of them.

"Sango! Can you roll Miroku-sama onto his back?" she asked.

Sango nodded, pushing Miroku onto his back. He cried out and arched up when his back touched the round, and her eyes filled with tears as she realized how badly hurt he had gotten, trying to protect her. "Miroku... please be ok..." she whispered, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"If it means you will be safe, I don't care what happens to me," he replied.

Kagome's eyes filled again. 'Inuyasha would have said the same thing...'

Her powers were waning... Kagome felt weaker and weaker the longer she tried to hold the barrier up. 'Please...' she thought, wishing that Naraku would stop the wind attack so she could let her shield down. It would have been much easier had she not been trying to maintain two shields, but she would not leave Inuyasha exposed to Naraku's, or her, attacks. 'I can't hold the barrier up much longer...'

Naraku ceased the wind attack at the exact same time that Kagome fell onto her hands and knees in exhaustion, unable to hold up the barrier. 'Inuyasha...' she thought. 'Onegai... I need you, koishii.'

She struggled back onto her feet, Miroku trying to sit up behind her. Kagome tried to walk over to the other side of the room, distancing herself from her friends so they could attack from two angles. She stood only a few meters away from Inuyasha's body. Lifting a hand to her quiver, she let her fingertips dance over the tips of her arrows, imbuing them with a little of her powers.

Naraku regarded Kagome, gathering dark flames in the palm of his hand. She notched up an arrow unto her bow in response, aiming for Naraku's heart as he prepared to throw the flames at her.

Sharp winds pulling Naraku back made the ball dissipate from his hands as a shout of "Kazaana" reached his ears. Miroku held his right hand tightly with his left, Sango holding tightly onto him as he tried to suck the demon in.

"Bakero," Naraku laughed, stretching a hand out into a sharp vine, embedding it into a wall. "I gave you that curse. You think you can destroy me with it?"

Kagome put her arrow back into the quiver, holding onto the nearest wall fixture to avoid getting sucked in. She turned her head to Sango and Miroku's direction, trying to decide if he was strong enough to use the Kazaana without causing himself further injury.

"Bastards," Naraku yelled, gathering another ball of youki in his hand. He turned his head to see Kagome distracted, and he smirked as the opportunity presented itself.

Sango had her arms tightly around Miroku's waist, holding on. She turned her head against the strong winds that made her eyes burn, making her gaze fall on the body of her fallen hanyou friend.

Naraku raised his hand, aimed, and with a sharp cry, fired at Kagome.

Miroku saw the youki aimed straight for Kagome and panicked, retracting his Kazaana.

Sango's eyes widened as she continued to stare.

Kagome looked up just as the ball of youki flew at her, right when Miroku suddenly wrapped up the Kazaana.

"KAGOME!"

Kagome felt herself falling to the floor, as someone had pushed her down and out of harm's way, dark hair blocking her vision for a moment.

Just as she realized that her name, called out in shock and worry, was shouted out by three voices.

oooooooooo

Pain was the first thing he registered. Agonizing pain that seemed to burn a path from his heart down to every last nerve in his body.

Then he felt the heat... soothing heat, emanating from somewhere close to his body. The heat was slowly driving away the pain, but he couldn't open his eyes to see where it was coming from.

Then he heard the noises... a crash, shouts of panic and fear...

Then he smelled the scents... death... a suffocating scent of malice... a scent of sandalwood and incense mixed with pain and anxiety... roses and freshwater combined with worry and anger... the intoxicating scent of jasmine and plum, laced with sorrow, rage and fear...

'Jasmines... Kagome!' he realized. Confusion at the nagging thought that he was supposed to be dead faded as her scent of fear spiked at the same time as a strong wind began to rush through, seemingly sucking everything into a vacuum.

He opened his eyes and raised his hands off his abdomen, only to find himself holding onto a cracked piece of smoky pink jewelry. He clenched it into a palm as he sat up, grabbing Tetsusaiga with the same hand as he pushed himself up to a standing position with the other.

Raising his head, he locked gazes with a shocked Sango, before he turned his head and saw Kagome holding onto a pillar, fighting the winds that were pulling her towards Miroku. Naraku had embedded his hand into a wall, and was gathering youki into his other, preparing to throw it at...

"KAGOME!" he yelled at the same time as Sango and Miroku who had pulled his Kazaana back. He threw himself at her, still tightly holding the jewel and his Tetsusaiga. He knocked her down with his weight, pushing them both to the floor, protectively pulling her head onto his chest.

Kagome closed her eyes against the unexpected impact that threw her to the floor. She opened her eyes to find herself clutched tightly to someone's chest... someone who was wearing a red haori.

She gasped, hope making her heart beat three times faster. She slowly raised her head, and tears filled her eyes as she looked into familiar violet eyes.

"I... Inuyasha?" she whispered hesitantly, lifting a hand to touch his cheek, trying to see if he was really there, holding her, looking at her with those piercing eyes...

"Kagome... daijobu? Are you... ok?" he asked, placing a palm over her hand.

"Oh gods... oh gods, it worked," she sobbed, linking her hands around his neck to pull him down for a short hug. "You're alive... oh gods, Inuyasha!"

"What the hell?!" Naraku yelled from above them, pulling his hand off the wall in anger. "I thought I had killed you!"

Inuyasha slowly stood, pulling Kagome up with him... neither looking away from the other's eyes. "So did I..." Inuyasha murmured in astonishment. They both looked down to his abdomen, but where Inuyasha's wound had been, was just a rather small gash, the torn haori the only testament to the deathblow.

Kagome pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear, smiling softly. "Open your hand, Inuyasha," she said softly.

Inuyasha looked at her skeptically, half keeping a wary eye on Naraku, before pulling away from Kagome. He put Tetsusaiga into his other hand, before regarding the small cracked jewel in his palm.

Naraku let out a snarl of rage as the object was revealed, pulling the tainted half of the Shikon no Tama from within his robes as he refused to believe his own eyes. "How did you..."

Inuyasha turned around to face him fully, remembering what had happened before he was killed. "I tried to pull the Shikon no Tama away from Naraku. I didn't get all of it."

Miroku's head reeled with the information. 'Maybe… when Inuyasha tried to lunge for the Shikon no Tama, he was unable to grab it. But the polluted Jewel sensed his purifying powers, and between him and Naraku, the jewel had gotten partly polluted and partly purified. The part that was pure couldn't stand Naraku's aura, so it pushed itself into Inuyasha's.'

Kagome stepped up. "It doesn't matter. The wound Inuyasha got was made by youki, and with half of the Shikon, I managed to make a prayer strong enough to purify his wound."

Naraku seethed. 'Kuso... we both now have half of the jewel,' he thought angrily. "You may have half of the jewel... but I still have the tainted part. You can't defeat me!"

"Yes, we can..." Miroku pointed out, his eyes looking dark and dazed from the strain of using his Kazaana.

"Your evil intentions will never flourish, Naraku!" Sango cried, pulling Hiraikotsu back from where it had been thrown on the floor.

"I can still win!" Naraku yelled, laying his half of the Shikon no Tama onto a palm, drawing a vicious red light from the depths of the gem, even as a dark red barrier appeared around him. Malicious laughter tumbled out of his lips as powerful winds began to swirl in the air within the tower, blades of youki slicing through their skin.

Sango and Miroku hurriedly ran over to where Kagome and Inuyasha stood, weapons slung over their shoulders. "What will we do?" Sango yelled over the din of the howling wind.

Inuyasha looked to Kagome, holding out the jewel. "Take it, Kagome."

Kagome stopped him from pushing the jewel straight into her hands, so they both held the jewel in cupped hands. "I need your help, Inuyasha."

"I'm human today, Kagome! I have no youki! I can't do anything!"

"No," Kagome shook her head. "Remember what Kagura said? Even without your youki, we can defeat Naraku. We give each other strength," Kagome replied, before looking over at Sango and Miroku who were trying to listen to her and stave off the blades of youki at the same time. "We all give each other strength."

Inuyasha nodded. "Let's do it, then. I trust you, Kag."

She nodded, lifting their joined hands above their heads, closing her eyes as she murmured a soft incantation under her breath. With her prayers, and the addition of Inuyasha's power, Kagome drew out the powers within the jewel. The four fighters' star marks began to glow as their half of the jewel began to glow an iridescent pink light.

Sango and Miroku began to feel their powers return to them as Kagome slowly countered Naraku's curse. Each blow from their weapons caused a beam of reiryoku and houriki to whip out, each ray diligently hitting Naraku's barrier.

Inuyasha felt a surge of power travel from his mark down his arms, culminating in the fang weapon resting in his other hand. Slowly, the battered katana began to transform as it did when he was hanyou, leaving a golden glow in the wake of the transformation.

Naraku's eyes widened in disbelief as he felt their auras begin to flare in power. He screamed in rage, drawing out as much power as he could from his jewel, making it twist around beyond his barrier to the four people below.

Inuyasha watched, transfixed, as the golden star mark on Kagome's wrist disappeared, only to reappear on her chest. Her eyes opened, and she pulled her hands back, tucking the jewel into her shirt.

"We need to break that barrier before we can attack," Inuyasha whispered as he watched all debris bounce back from the shield around Naraku. A dark cloud of youki was forming on the palm of the evil demon's hand, as if he were readying it to throw at them. "You think you can break it with your arrows?"

Kagome reached behind her, pulling one of her last two arrows out of her quiver. "Miroku, Sango-chan... get your weapons ready."

"Hai, Azalea-sama," Miroku replied, pulling out two ofuda from his robes. Sango made a firmer hold on her Hiraikotsu as Kagome took aim. Inuyasha held the Tetsusaiga up with both hands, getting ready to counter the attack he suspected Naraku would launch once his barrier was broken.

Kagome notched up her bow, aiming at the center of the barrier. Closing her eyes, she let her reiryoku travel through the weapon, engulfing the arrow in brilliant pink light. 'For everyone that died during all this chaos...' she thought, before she let her arrow fly.

Naraku's eyes widened at the approaching arrow. He tried to strengthen the barrier, but the sacred arrow pierced through it, the ripped point beginning to expand even as the arrow dissolved upon the impact. In moments the barrier was gone, leaving Naraku unprotected.

"I will kill you all!" he yelled, the ball of garnet-hued youki on his palm growing as his eyes blazed in fury. He raised his hand, poised to throw it at the group.

Inuyasha stepped forward, an unknown inner wisdom guiding his movements. He raised the Tetsusaiga, concentrating all his powers into the katana as Naraku let the ball loose.

Winds gathered around the blade as Inuyasha glared at the oncoming blast of youki. He concentrated on the swirling masses of power in the attack, pointing his weapon at the furious youki flames.

He stepped one foot back to brace himself as he swung his sword back, aiming the gathering youki around his blade at Naraku's own. Fire blazed in his eyes as he shouted out, not knowing how he knew... "BAKURYUUHA!" He sliced down, unleashing a shaft of holy power that headed for the center of the swirling throng of evil youki.

The two streams of youki seemed to blend into a convoluted pattern of garnet and golden aura, before the golden beam pushed the garnet back, taking it with itself to attack the evil youkai from where the red stream came from.

Naraku gasped, eyes wide, as he watched the two streams of youki twist into one, heading for him, before he could even act, the youki crashed into him dead on, a scream of utter pain ripped from his throat as he felt his skin begin to burn and the polluted Shikon no Tama fell from his hand.

Inuyasha dropped his sword, lunging at the other half of the Shikon no Tama as it fell to the floor. He ran back to Kagome, who aimed he arrow at Naraku, and nodded to Sango, who was poised to throw her boomerang, and to Miroku, who had slapped the ofuda onto his shakujou.

Kagome took the half that Inuyasha held out to her, instantly purifying it as Naraku fell to his knees on the ground before them. She took the other half out from within her robes and fitted them together. The jewel merged back into one.

Kagome glowed, warm reiryoku surrounding her and lifting her off the ground momentarily as she absorbed the power back into herself, hands clasped around the jewel in prayer with her eyes closed. All at once she opened her hands, the Shikon no Tama no more as the Shikon went back into her.

Inuyasha gave Kagome a smile as she looked at him, holding out her hand, confident that the Shikon would not repel him. Sparks flew off them as their hands touched, their skin tingling in response to the contact.

"We have to purify this tower... and Naraku," Kagome whispered.

Kagura's words came back to Inuyasha. Had he been hanyou, they would not be able to purify the tower without purifying him at the same time. "Let's do it," he replied. Both closed their eyes, Inuyasha concentrating on the thought of letting his purification powers flow into Kagome.

Naraku, who lay broken on the floor, looked up as he felt the immense heat of the purification overwhelm him. He screeched in agony as he felt the spirits on the Garnet Tower free themselves from his body, leaving him to be only the human he had been before he gained control of the Tower.

The Tower shook with the force of the purification, the malicious spirits clamoring to get back to their confinement. As the last waves of the intense purification faded away, the sun began to rise from the horizon, bathing everything in a golden glow. Inuyasha felt the pulse of his returning youki, a grin working its way onto his lips as his hair turned silver.

Kagome and Inuyasha broke apart, both readying their weapons as they saw Naraku lift a hand from the ground, gathering the last of his powers into a ball of tainted spiritual aura.

The four friends, as if reading each others minds, raised their weapons to the evil man. Kagome pulled back her arrow, and Inuyasha awaited the oncoming attack.

"You bastards!" Naraku yelled as he let loose his last attempt at an attack.

Inuyasha once again aimed his youki at the ball of energy, before unleashing his own attack. "Bakuryuuha!" he shouted, twisting the evil power into itself as his own attack pushed it towards Naraku.

"Go!" Kagome shouted as she let her arrow fly.

"Hiraikotsu!"

"Seibai!"

Kagome, Sango and Miroku all released their own weapons to join the Bakuryuuha at the same time. As the weapons approached the mass of energy, The material bludgeons began to melt away, leaving three streams of power to blend in with the Bakuryuuha.

Inuyasha's red energy pulsed with Kagome's pink light, and Miroku's indigo, together with Sango's magenta, swirled together with them, hitting Naraku. They covered their eyes as a bright light resonated upon contact, the villain's screams echoing off the shaking tower as his body seemed to melt into thin air, the scent on his death filling Inuyasha's nostrils.

Naraku was gone...

When the light died down, all four slowly put their hands off their eyes, Sango and Kagome teary-eyed, as if not wanting to believe that it was all over. Miroku turned to his right hand, slowly unwrapping the rosary from his fingers.

"Oh, gods..." he whispered, staring at his once more whole hand.

Sango suddenly lunged herself at Miroku, hugging him in joy as they reveled in the fact that the Kazaana was gone... "It's over!" she cried. Naraku was gone.

Kagome turned to Inuyasha, tears in her eyes. "Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..." he breathed, running to her and wrapping his arms around her in happiness at Naraku's demise... and sorrow as he realized his impending departure. 'I only have a few hours left.'

Kagome pulled away slightly, only to lean up and give him a passionate kiss. The sweetness of their victory seemed overshadowed by their imminent parting as they kissed each other slowly, desperately.

They pulled apart, Kagome's tears still falling steadily down her cheeks.

"Kagome, don't cry," Inuyasha pleaded, even as his own eyes felt the weight of unexpected moisture.

"Azalea-sama," Miroku called softly, making Inuyasha and Kagome wince... the name just solidified the fact that their time together was drawing to an end. "Let's go back to the palace."

Kagome nodded, instructing them to hang on to her while she teleported them back. Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku held on as Kagome chanted the words that would bring them back to the Crystal Palace.

oooooooooo

A/N: A few notes before anybody decides to flame me:

Human Inuyasha did the Bakuryuuha not with demon energy but with the powers given to him by the star mark – holy powers, so to speak. Hanyou Inuyasha did the Barkuryuuha with youki. Naraku's last ditch effort at an attack was also from his innate powers as a blue star.

Also, the scents Inuyasha referred to as he woke up were of Naraku (malice), Miroku (sandalwood, etc.), Sango (roses, etc.) and Kagome (jasmines, etc.).

That's all for this chapter... I hope you all enjoyed it. It is gonna be one of the last chapters. I still can't believe my first fic is about to end.

Please review. I desperately want to know what you guys think about this. Drop me a line, but please don't flame.

Anywho... Thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapters. You guys are the greatest! Hands cookies to everyone Sorry I can't give reader responses today... most of the questions can't be answered without giving out too much on the next chapter.

I hope you all enjoyed. I reiterate... please review. Until next time! Ja!

ScarletRaven1001


	32. Parting Wishes

A/N: It never fails to bug me how things get messed up right when I REALLY want to post a chapter. I had a chapter written down for ages, I swear, but then my computer crashed, and I lost the file. With all four gigabytes of my other documents, and more than 10gb of miscellaneous files and programs with it. To those of you who had ever gotten an untimely reformat, you must know how much it sucks, and it took me ages to recover from the frustration, and even longer to catch my escaped plot bunnies.

So here it is... the second to the last chapter of Seven Weeks. I hope I don't disappoint you guys with this chapter, and bear in mind that I was in a somber mood when writing it... not necessarily healthy for potentially angst-free fics.

Please review, and as always, I thank everybody who had read and reviewed my previous chapters, and my sincerest gratitude goes to all those who have followed this story from the first chapter, whether they review or not.

Here it is! Enjoy! And no flames, please.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

Parting Wishes

oooooooooo

A single orb of bright pink light suddenly appeared in the middle of the Crystal Tower's throne room, sending all immediate guards into a frenzy. The last time a ball of light had appeared out of nowhere, Naraku had come and taken the princess. All of them rushed in, drawing their weapons, but...

All froze as they realized that the orb did not feel threatening – quite the contrary. As the orb slowly grew in size, a warm glow spread from it, engulfing the castle's interior in soothing golden light, bathing the halls in purifying radiance. Slowly, the glow transformed the neglected palace back into its former splendor.

The crystalline walls cleared, the fog caused by the disrepair dissolving in blinding flashes of soothing light. Everything the light touched began to shine with holy luster, and all inhabitants of the palace woke in the very early hours of that morning, to gaze in wonder as the structure slowly regained its former grandeur.

The guards standing in the throne room trembled in anticipation as they realized what was happening. And as four individual beams of light slowly took the form of closely huddled people, their giddiness caused tears to spring from the more soft-hearted of the lot.

The humanoid shapes solidified, revealing a sight they all looked forward to, but hadn't quite expected.

The light from the entire castle began to retract back into the source, before a very sudden flash left all momentarily blinded. As the flash died down, all present in the throne room slowly dared to open their eyes, each shaking as the sight of the most revered person in their land, flanked by the warrior of the legends and her two most powerful assistants, greeted them after months of her disappearance.

Kagome smiled, letting her hand fall to her sides as she felt her feet touch solid ground. She knew, before opening her eyes, from the thrilled voices coming from all around her that she was back, back within the castle, back in her people's lives.

For a moment she reveled in the sounds of jubilation, the cheers from the guards and all present palace dwellers, her eyes still closed, even as she felt her companions pull their arms from hers. The cries of the guards, calls for her name, tugged a smile from her lips, and for just that moment, she pretended that her return was perfect, that her return marked more exultant days for her and her people, her friends, and...

"Kagome..." a soft gruff voice whispered into her ear. Her eyes popped open almost automatically at the sound of his hoarse voice, and she found herself staring into his concerned golden eyes.

'Inuyasha,' she thought. The pretension was over. Her return may mark the end of her people's suffering, but for her... and Inuyasha.

The golden sun peeked into the palace from the high windows, serving as a painfully powerful reminder of the impending agony that she would be forced to endure. Inuyasha glanced at the window, sorrow clouding his gaze even as he turned his gaze back to her.

"Kagome", he whispered again, and the sound ripped a sharp, mournful cry from her throat as she threw her arms around her love. The moment the first sob left her lips, the excited, happy shouts from the people around her stopped, and everything else around her ceased to exist the moment his arms found their way around her waist.

"I..." she began, the sobs choking her as she struggled to speak. His arms tightened possessively, protectively around her, and she realized with a sinking feeling that in a few minutes time, he would have to leave...

She would never feel his arms wrap around her again.

Inuyasha's chest tightened just a little more with every sob, every scalding tear, every hitched breath from the girl in his arms. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply of the scent of her hair, trying desperately to imprint her essence into his mind. "Don't cry... please."

But with his words, all dams within their two souls broke, sending their emotions tumbling into an endless torrent of despair, love, hope. With his words, Kagome found that she really could do no more than cry, cry all the pain out, hoping the tears would wash her hurt away, but knowing that nothing could ease the stabbing pain in her heart.

A feeling of injustice washed over Inuyasha. After all the hardships, all the trials he had endured with her – and now he would be left with nothing. Nothing but the thought of her love, nothing but the horrible agony of knowing that he would be leaving the only woman he would ever cherish so completely. With his softly uttered words, everything rushed into his heart, drowning him, rising into his throat and before he could stop, a single tear slid down each of his clenched eyes.

Miroku stepped away from the pair, whom he knew were lost in their own world, a world where despair was clouding them, but someday, they could be together again. Beside him, Sango blinked back tears, as guards remained as still as stone, each wondering what was going on.

With a small signal by his waving hands, he led all the guards out of the throne room, holding Sango by the elbow as he discretely left the room and closed the door behind them. Leaving the two on their own.

oooooooooo

He never wanted to let go. All this time he had been terrified of having her taken from him, of having her ripped from his arms. But now, all his fears would become reality.

He felt tears well up in his eyes even as he comforted her, even as he rocked her slowly, trying in vain to make her calm down. Everything in him screamed out for him to lift her and run away with her, run away from the pain, but with every tear that fell from her eyes and onto his haori, the grim realization that it was the way things were meant to be taunted him, made him curse the gods that gave him a taste of heaven with her, only to have her taken from him.

"I... Inuyasha," she continued to struggle with her words, her hands reaching up to fist into his robes. Her voice was choked, her words choppy, her cheeks puffed and red with crying. "I don't... I can't! I... I don't want you to go!"

He tightened his arms around her even more, and he raised his blazing eyes to the sky, his expression warding off anything that would dare intrude on their last few moments together.

"I don't _want_ to go..." he whispered, his own voice harsh and defeated. His fingers treaded into her hair, his arms acting as if they wanted to pull Kagome into himself, so they would never have to be apart.

Kagome pulled herself from his chest, her eyes craving for his through the glaze of her tears. "You are... you are the only one," she paused as she choked back her sobs. Her hands floated up to his face, tracing off the small tracks of tears on his cheeks, before cupping them. "The only one that I will ever love. Please, Inuyasha, don't ever forget that."

He held back a sob of his own at the desperation in her eyes. "I won't. I _swear_ to God, Kagome, I... I will never forget. I _can't_ ever forget you," he raised a clawed hand to gently brush bangs from her face, before he let his fingers trace her lips. "And I could never love anyone else, either."

The honesty in his eyes tore at her, and before she could speak, a new river of tears flowed from her eyes. She tried to speak, but found that her lips would not cooperate, and she ended up opening and closing her mouth, willing the elusive words to come out.

He could take no more. As more and more tears fell from her eyes, he leaned down and kissed her softly, chastely, expressing his unadulterated love for her in his kiss.

They broke apart as a knock sounded on the door, and Inuyasha glared venomously at the intruder.

Miroku's solemn faced peeked in, his eyes downcast, as he said, "Inuyasha, Aza-sama... I am sorry but... Inuyasha really has to leave. He has only a few minutes left..."

The tears fell from her eyes more freely now, and with her eyes on the floor, Kagome choked out an answer. "Alright. Bring Sango in here. We... we have to..." she paused, sucking in a calming breath. "We have to bring Inuyasha back home."

His heart shattered with her words, the finality in the statement hitting him hard. He watched Sango trudge into the room, still dressed in her bloody exterminator's outfit. Miroku's robes were still ripped, but he now carried with him a small ofuda.

Kagome pulled away from Inuyasha to stand in the center of the room, right in front of her throne. Inuyasha wanted to grab her, hold her against him once again, but her purposeful strides and the determinedly straight point of her gaze stopped him. She hated this... as much as he did.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, muttering words under her breath. A bright light leaked out of her every pore, engulfing her, and as the light died down, he gasped as Kagome emerged in a flowing white gown, her hair reaching her toes, the Shikon no Tama hanging from her neck. In that instant she was once again Azalea, the princess in the dreams that had haunted him in what seemed like years ago.

She opened her eyes to regard him, smiling sadly, before she looked away and nodded to Miroku. Miroku and Sango stood directly in front of each other, a few feet separating them. Miroku held the ofuda in his hand up, muttering a short prayer as the piece of paper glowed. Sango joined in, holding out a hand towards the scroll. He abruptly let go of the ofuda, and Inuyasha stared as it caught fire in mid-air. The flames spun around it in a circle, spinning faster and faster until a vortex emerged in the place of the ofuda.

Kagome then took up the chant, and the vortex began to grow larger and larger, until it was big enough for Inuyasha to jump through. She stopped abruptly as the portal grew large enough, and walked over to Inuyasha.

"Look into the portal, Inuyasha," she said.

Inuyasha did as he was told, and was astounded to find himself staring at rapid flashes of his past. It was as if through the portal, he could see his entire life being replayed in fast forward. Kagome's voice broke him out of his musings.

"Give me one thing that you wish to change about your life in your world, Inuyasha."

The question struck him dumb. "What?"

"For all your sacrifices... it is the least I can do," she said, tears forming on the edges of her eyes. "I can't be with you, Inuyasha, but maybe... maybe there could be someone else you would want to see, someone who had died in your past..."

He started. "My father?"

Kagome nodded. "Do you want him back, Inuyasha?"

'You're the _only_ one I want, Kagome!' his mind yelled, but he knew better... "Yes. Could you..."

She nodded, and she turned to the portal. The visions slowed down partly, showing Inuyasha a place he was all too familiar with. It was the place where his father died, only, instead of showing him his father's dead body, he saw his father cracking his knuckles even as he looked around him in bewilderment, the group of rogue youkai who had supposedly killed him dead beneath his feet. The visions sped by again, and Inuyasha looked away when he felt Kagome come closer.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, tears again cascading down her cheeks. "Farewell, Inuyasha."

He wrapped his arms around her slight form and clung to her with a death grip, glaring wholeheartedly at the portal home. "Kagome..."

"I would never forget you," she whispered, pulling back slightly to pull something over her head. The Shikon no Tama dangled in front of his eyes, and he stared unmoving as Kagome slipped it over his head.

"Keep this with you," she continued. "So that you will remember that... once... you had loved a woman named Kagome... and that Kagome had loved you, with everything she was."

His heart clenched as he stared down at the Shikon no Tama, before his eyes raised up to meet hers, his love and sorrow reflected in their blue/gray depths. With his bleeding heart crying out for mercy, uncaring of their small audience, he leaned down without a word and kissed her with all the love and sorrow in his heart.

Kagome's tears burned her eyes as she kissed him back. Naraku was dead, the kingdom restored, and now it was time for him to go home. She knew that parting was inevitable, but it still killed her. The pain was almost physical, and it was as if her chest were being stabbed hundreds of times by millions of sharp needles.

She kissed him back with all the love in her heart, her hands gripping at his robes desperately, wishing with all her heart to keep him with her. Her hands and lips tried distraughtly to memorize everything about him, his sharp scent, the taste of his lips, wanting to keep the memory for the eternity without him that awaited her.

Inuyasha moaned as Kagome opened her mouth to let him in, and he plundered her mouth as best as he could, taking deep breaths in an attempt to remembering every single thing about her, the exact tang of her feminine scent and sweet lips. His hands held her to him tightly, pressing her soft curves against his hard body to emblazon the feel of her into his mind. He poured everything into the kiss, wanting her to know down to the deepest corners of her soul that he would always love her, that in his mind, and in his heart, she will always be with him. Her smile would always be in his mind's eye, her touch branded forever on his skin, the remembrance of their sole intimate night a silent inspiration in the dark days without her scent and laughter around him.

Neither wanted the kiss to end, their hearts begging for time to stop, to freeze them into that moment. But as they slowly pulled away, their hearts cried out in betrayal. Their teary gazes and trembling fingers ran over each other's faces, trying to memorize every line and feature of their beloved's face.

"Kagome..."

She closed her eyes against the pain in her breast, her hands taking in fistfuls of his clothing. She would never wipe her lips, never wash her clothes, so his scent and taste would remain with her.

He held her against him in a last desperate hug, hearing her heart-wrenching sobs and feeling her breath hitch against his chest. It hurt too much, but he had to be strong, for both of them.

"I love you, Kagome," he said, his voice choked. "I will never forget you. I..."

He reached out to her tear-stained face... and made the mistake of wiping her tears away.

His heart broke completely, and some of the furiously held back tears slipped down his cheeks, his breath catching with every word. "Take care of yourself, wench. I... Gods, I..."

"Inuyasha!" she cried out, her aura flaring in her grief. "I will! I promise you! I... I would never love another! I... Oh, God!"

He closed his eyes as he pulled away, their fingers touching as he did so and lingering for a moment before he severed the contact. He trembled, his body knowing as much as his mind that they had just let go... for the final time.

"Sayonara, koishii..." he whispered, closing his eyes as he turned away. He started towards the portal, until he stood directly in front of it, watching memories of his childhood spin in wild circles in its depths.

"Inuyasha!" she called out, her pain escalating with every syllable.

He stopped but didn't turn around. He just knew that if he did, he would never be able to leave. He would wilt into her arms, let himself just drown forever into the torrential storm of her eyes.

She looked at her feet as she spoke, her voice a pained whisper. "I love you... If you remember nothing else, always remember that."

He froze. 'She wouldn't...' he thought. He began to turn to face her again, but a sudden force from the portal sucked him in at that instant.

"Kagome!" he screamed as he felt himself falling, falling though the portal to his world. 'Don't make me forget! NO!' his mind screamed.

He turned forcibly, tears springing to his eyes when the last thing he saw was her face, her anguished face, screaming his name in desperate misery, before everything went black...

oooooooooo

"INUYASHA!" Kagome yelled into the portal as Inuyasha was suddenly pulled in. She almost wanted to jump in, but she knew she couldn't leave her world like that. The portal closed as he disappeared into the black void of the vortex, and she crumpled to her knees, her eyes blank and staring, before the tears came again.

"Inu... Inuyasha... INUYASHA!" she screamed, her cries loud enough to carry through the entire palace. She broke into huge sobs, one of her hands covering her face as she knelt on the ground, her other fist pounding the floor beneath her knees.

Sango knelt beside her, she too crying. "Kagome... I'm sorry... don't cry, please!"

She just turned, flinging herself into Sango's arms, and crying her heart out on the other girl's chest. "Oh, Sango!" she cried. "I know I have to move on, to get Crystallia back on its feet, but..." she paused, powerful sobs wracking her frame, her shoulders shaking in defeat. "But it's too hard! I'll never get over him, Sango... I... I don't know what to do..."

"Kagome... you heard him... he will always love you and... he will never forget you... oh, Kagome!" Sango buried her own face into Kagome's hair, feeling her friend's pain.

"He can't keep that promise, Sango... I made him forget."

"What!"

"I made him forget... I will suffer, but him... I love him too much. I made him forget about me, about Crystallia. So he wouldn't have to be hurt. I hope it worked. Because if he didn't want to forget, he... he's so strong Sango, he'd fight it," Kagome sobbed. "I just wish... that there would be some way I could be with him..."

Sango just held her, Miroku looking on in helpless sadness. He shook his head. Kagome's prayers were strong enough to sustain their land... he just hoped they would be strong enough to sustain her heart...

oooooooooo

"INUYASHA!"

The silver haired hanyou bolted upright in his bed, the shrill scream still ringing in his ears. The star-shaped birthmark on his chest was burning dreadfully, and his breathing was ragged.

'Yume wa... a dream. It was a dream', He told himself, but deep down he knew that there was something else. He sat up in his bed, thinking about it. The dream was so real.

The dark-haired lady in his dream looked to be in such pain. Her blue/gray eyes pleaded with him, the tears trailing down her cheeks making him want to abandon his gruffness to reach out and brush the tears away. The dream was also strange - he had never had a dream like that before. And her voice...

When she called out his name, he could feel the overwhelming pain in her voice. He wanted to reach out to her, hold her... but why he felt like that towards a stupid dream, he couldn't figure out.

'Keh. I must be so over-worked, I'm hallucinating. Shit,' But try as he might, he just couldn't figure out how his brain could have produced such a vivid dream.

'INUYASHA...'

He sat up straight and looked around in his room. Gods, he could have sworn he heard her voice in his head again. Her voice... so pained... She was calling to him, desperately pleading with him.

"Dammit! Snap out of it Inuyasha! It was a fucking dream. A pigment of your under-used imagination," he said aloud to himself, his golden flashing in annoyance. "You just need to lighten up and kick some ass to get your useless mind off things."

As he got up from his bed, he caught a reflection of himself in the full length mirror near his bed. He reached up to brush back a lock of hair that had fallen across his face, when a gleam from something that hung from around his neck caught his eye.

He reached down to grasp it, puzzled. 'What the hell is this?' he thought, looking at it through narrowed eyes. A round, wispy pink pendant hung from a simple gold chain around his neck.

A knock on the door, and the loud voice of his father stirred him from his thoughts. Deciding to ponder the mysterious jewel later, he summoned his human disguise and answered his father's call.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, dammit!"

oooooooooo

"I still can't fucking believe that Sesshoumaru is getting married. He'll finally move out of the house." Inuyasha grouched to his friend Takeshi, and his self-proclaimed sidekick, Shippou.

Takeshi brushed long red bangs back from his face, looking quizzically at Inuyasha. "Didn't know you hated him that much."

"Yeah," Shippou chimed in, bobbing up and down on his feet. His longish auburn hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, a purple concealment talisman hiding a tail and fox feet – his distinctive kitsune youkai features. "Besides, I thought you actually _liked_ Miss Rin. Aren't you sorry to see her end up with him?"

"I do, but the wench is fucking stupid enough to like him, there ain't nuthin' I can do about that," Inuyasha replied noncommittally as the three turned to enter their favorite hangout – the local coffee shop.

Takeshi shook his head with a grin. "Yasha, must you insist on calling every girl we meet a wench?"

The statement caused Inuyasha to stop walking, and he stared in shock at his friend as his voice, and another familiar female one flitted through his mind.

_- "Must you insist on calling me wench, Inuyasha?"_

"_Yeah I do, now shut up already," he called back. -_

'That voice...' he thought. 'It's the voice of the girl in my dream this morning!'

"Yasha?"

Shippou's confused voice broke into his thoughts, and he shook his mind to dispel the fog.

"Yeah, what?"

"Nuthin'... hey, nice necklace!" Shippou said, glancing down at the round crystal pendant he wore. Then, in undertones only heard by youkai, he continued, "New concealment charm?"

Inuyasha looked down at the pendant, and the soft feminine voice of his dream phantom entered his mind again, this time in a whispered plea.

_- "Keep this with you," she continued. "So that you will remember that... once... you had loved a woman named Kagome... and that Kagome had loved you, with everything she was." -_

He shook his head, not minding the strange looks he was getting from his friends.

Takeshi gave a soft wolf whistle as they found a vacant table and sat down. He motioned to the doorway, making Shippou and Inuyasha look in the said direction.

Inuyasha's heart stopped.

A woman with an entirely too familiar face framed by brownish black hair stood in the doorway, looking for a vacant seat in the crowded store. Her cool brown eyes scanned the crowd, finally resting on him and the vacant seat next to him.

His heart resumed movement, his heartbeats furious pounding against his ribcage. Blocked memories resurfaced as the woman came closer, and he grabbed onto the pink pendant as remembrance washed over him in a torturous wave.

He barely heard Takeshi saying, "Isn't that the new chick from Section B? What's her name again? Kikyo?"

Shippou shrugged, turning to Inuyasha. "I dunno. Yasha?"

But Inuyasha was staring vacantly as the memories sailed back into his head, making him dizzy with pain and realization.

"Kagome..." he muttered in a daze, standing as the woman approached their table.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Inuyasha snapped back into reality, and one look at the face that so resembled his lost love's own broke him. Without another word, he fled from the shop, ignoring the concerned calls from his friends for him to come back.

He remembered everything, down to the last moment when he had fought to keep his memories. From the last kiss they had shared before he left, to the way her skirt fluttered about her legs as the wind blew past.

He was back home in record time, and his mother stepped back as he nearly barreled into her in his haste to get to his room.

She noticed the tears standing in his eyes, and she called out his name in concern. But still he ran, until he reached the safety of his own bedroom.

He slammed the door shut, flopping down on his bed as he dropped the concealment spell that made him look human. With shaking hands, he grasped at the Shikon no Tama, the tears he had held back since the moment he felt Kagome slip away from him falling from his eyes.

He held the Shikon no Tama to his face, smirking tearfully at its shiny surface. "Keh... wench... didn't I tell you that I could _never_ forget you?" he rasped. He closed his eyes against an onslaught of tears, as the realization that the jewel, along with his mind's whispered reminder of her soft kisses, was the only thing he had left of her.

Not caring if anyone heard, if anyone noticed, Inuyasha howled, a long, mournful howl of an inu youkai who had lost his heart... a howl that was her name...

"Inuyasha!" his mother's voice sounded from the doorway, and he looked to see her standing there, her dark eyes reminding him of Kagome... everything seemed to remind him of her.

"Yasha... are you alright?" she asked, highly concerned at the sight of tears on her usually strong son's face.

"Okaa... hahaue..." he gasped, reaching for her as she kneeled before him on the bed. Remembering the days of his childhood, he rolled down, burying his face onto her lap as sobs were ripped from his throat. "No... and I don't know if I ever will be again..."

oooooooooo

A/N: If you all remember, Inuyasha left his world very early in the day, before seven in the morning (first chapter). Here in the orient, the sun rises at about 6 in the morning, so he naturally had less than an hour left after defeating Naraku.

And about Yasha crying... he did hold it back for an awfully long time. My ex had been bawling the day we parted at the airport, so I'm guessing by the way I made Inu react here, he had seemed more _stone_ youkai than inu. And psychological studies show that boys who grow rather closely to their mothers tend to break before their moms if the pressure is too great.

Before I go on to the review responses, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to **Midoriko-sama** for her kind words and encouragement. That email really got me back into writing this chapter. Thanks again, and I am honored to have received such words from you.

Responses:

**The Literary Dragon**: I am afraid our psychic connection has been broken for now... but don't worry, Inu and Kag won't end up miserable forever... there are other ways... Wahahahaha!

**PureAngelEnchantress**: Oh well... here's the chapter... but there's always hope, ne? Hope you enjoyed!

**Guardian Angel of ALL Anime**: Gah! Go chase Koto! Anyway... hehehehe... so he left... um... gomen!

**Min** **Farshaw**: Yeah... ending things always make me sad in a twisted sort of way...

**Ixchen**: That happens... blame my computer!

**Dragon's** **Kitty**: Oh, thanks! I'm glad you think so. But there... I hope this chap has also held your interest... I know it's held mine!

**AnimeObsessionFantasy**: There... but it's not the last chap so there's hope... right?

**inulova4lyfe**: Thanks!

**RavenShadow**: Um... heartbreak,anyone? Hehehe... sorry for leaving the chap like that, but remember, I did say that I rather like happily ever afters...

**TheWraith**: Nice snippet, Tim! I can't wait til you can finally finish the chapter. Oh, and thanks for the review. Hail the Evil Overlords!

Thanks again to all those who have been reading my story, whether or not you review. I have to admit that even I am surprised by your patience with me and my horribly irregular updates. Of course, much thanks to those who do review, even just once, to tell me what they think of this fic. Your words fuel my fingers into typing. Hehehe!

Thanks again for the time. Please tell me what you think, and for any criticisms, it's ok, as long as they're not in the form of flames.

Til next time! The last chapter is coming your way, people...

ScarletRaven1001


	33. Fairy Tales

A/N: Hey guys!

I am aware that I took a very long time with this chapter... and that I did promise to post it earlier, and I am sorry for not keeping that promise. I started my on-the-job training early last April, and the company I had joined has no mercy with its employees or practicumers, whatsoever. I also have to leave home at 5:30 in the morning and get home very late everyday, so I have had no time to write. And by the time my ojt was done, I had classes again.

But on the bright side... I _did_ get the chap out, ne? Hehe...

This is officially the last chapter, but I will write an epilogue to tie up any loose ends, so please, write your questions in your reviews and I will clear them up next time.

So, with no further ado, I give you the final chapter of this obscenely long story. Enjoy, and please, read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

33. Fairy Tales

oooooooooo

They say that time heals all wounds... that time shall help one forget all the anguish of the past, and that every painful thing shall fade away with time.

Inuyasha says, "Fuck that, dammit. Time does not heal wounds. It only rips them open everytime you stupidly dare to look back."

"Aw come on, Inuyasha! Don't be such a pessimist!" Shippou exclaimed as the two sat in a corner of Inuyasha's office in Taisho and Sons Corporation, eating their lunch.

"It's true. That 'time heals all wounds' crap is just a load of bullshit," he replied, ripping open his packet of instant ramen. "You can never forget painful events in your life, Shippou. The only thing you can do is try to remember the good times you had..."

Shippou was astounded as he watched the usually bull-headed hanyou look wistfully into the distance, his hand flying to the front of his shirt, clutching at something covered up by his suit. "Yasha? Is something wrong?"

Snapping out of it, Inuyasha turned back to his friend, letting go of his deathgrip on whatever it was he had been holding. "Nah... I'm ok. Just thought of something," Then rising, Inuyasha put down his ramen and headed for the door. "I gotta go do something, ok Shippou? Just eat up, I'll be back in a flash!" then was out the door.

Shippou was baffled. There they had been, talking about the death of their colleague's mother, and Inuyasha had gone all defensive when Shippou mentioned that the devastated guy would forget the pain in time. Had he been talking to a sixteen-year old Inuyasha, the guy would have shrugged and agreed.

Now that he thought about it, Inuyasha had suddenly turned into a different person about ten years ago... about a month before his seventeenth birthday. The turning point had been when he had literally run away from a pretty girl named Kikyo. He had refused to come out of his house for an entire week, but upon coming out, had totally changed his style.

The grumpy and rather nonchalant hanyou had turned into a diligent student, one who was a fitting heir for the corporation run by his family. Even Shippou and Takeshi, who had been close to him, were dragged along for the ride, and instead of graduating as class goats in their senior year, Inuyasha had actually made the honor role, him and Takeshi as awardees.

It seemed that something about that strange day had triggered a change in him. Since then, he had been even more distant from the opposite sex, not dating a single girl for the past ten years. Kikyo had tried reaching him for a while during their senior year, but after having been avoided like the plague, finally gave up. He had lived by the philosophy that every single second counts... and that missing a moment seemed to him to be a heinous crime.

It had been odd... but the change had given them better futures, so Shippou wasn't complaining. He just wished he knew what caused the pained look in Inuyasha's eyes whenever he saw women with long dark hair.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha splashed a handful of water onto his face for the fifth time since he entered the washroom. "Damn," he muttered, giving his own cheek a soft slap. "Snap out of it, Yasha! It's been ten years, dammit!"

He had never been able to forget her. Every single day of his life, he had thought of the only woman he had ever fallen in love with. He still saw her face whenever he glanced at dark-haired women, only to nearly cringe in pain when they turned and he was reminded that he was never going to see her again.

"Kagome..." he whispered, pulling the Shikon no Tama out from beneath the collar of his red button down shirt. He rolled the jewel around on his hand, before giving it a firm, wistful squeeze as he thought of the woman who used to wear it around her neck. "I still love her..."

Every year, on the exact date of when he had left for Crystallia (and came back from it), he celebrated their anniversary alone in his pad. He knew in his heart that Kagome was still there, praying for Crystallia, doing her lonely duty for the rest of her life... and hopefully, she also thought of him on those days.

When he lost her, he realized how incomplete his life was and would be without her. In the end, all he could give her was a heartache, while she gave him herself, and his father back. He realized too that Kagome had changed a lot of things in his world for him, so that he could have lived a life that was better than the one he had before he had gone to Crystallia.

"Maybe she's better off without me?" he mumbled to himself, a wry smile forming on his lips. "Maybe a hanyou like myself was never meant to be with a mate..."

The door to the washroom opened, revealing a tall male with long dark hair. Inuyasha snorted when the man turned to him, a questioning look in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What do people usually do in a bathroom, Inuyasha?" he replied, making his way to a mirror beside the hanyou. "Unlike you, normal beings do not use a washroom for talking to themselves."

"I wasn't talking to myself, teme," Inuyasha muttered, taking a paper towel and drying himself off.

"This Sesshoumaru could hear you rambling from three doors away."

"What!" Inuyasha exclaimed, turning back to his brother.

It was Sesshoumaru's time to snort. "You think me deaf?" he grumbled. "So..."

Inuyasha winced as his brother's piercing blue, albeit normally gold, gaze settle on him. He knew what was coming.

"I didn't know that you had fallen in love. And here I was beginning to think you were gay," Sesshoumaru smirked at Inuyasha's insulted growl. "Who is Kagome, and why have you never even bothered to introduce her to your family?"

"It's all in the past, Sess. Don't worry about it," he tried to dodge.

Too bad Sesshoumaru knew that maneuver all too well. "I know it was in the past. You said ten years, didn't you? I know you didn't fall out of love with her. So, what the devil happened?"

Inuyasha heaved a frustrated sigh. "Our relationship wasn't meant to be, so we had to get separated."

"Separated... interesting use of words. Does this mean that you never broke up? Is this what happened when you went nuts ten years ago?"

"Keh," he muttered back half-heartedly.

"I'll take that as a yes," the youkai replied. "But this situation isn't very like you. If you love her so much, why didn't you fight to stay with her? Why don't you go and try to find her now? Surely ten years will have made a difference in whatever had made you two have to leave each other."

"It's not that simple, Sess. I'd have done anything possible, but there was nothing I can do," Inuyasha said regretfully. "There still isn't anything I can do."

"Not even for your mate?" his older brother asked softly.

That caught Inuyasha's attention. "What did you say?" he asked slowly. "What are you talking abo-"

"You mated her, didn't you?" Sesshoumaru said, closely looking at him. "Father and I had smelled something strange on you that morning, but we dismissed it, knowing you weren't involved with anybody. But we were wrong, ne, ototo? You _were_ involved, and you _had_ mated, am I right?"

Inuyasha's silence, and his refusal to meet Sesshoumaru's gaze, spoke volumes.

"And here I thought I had tied the knot too young..." the youkai said, shaking his head in slight disbelief, before a glint on Inuyasha's chest caught his eye. "That gem, was it from her? You have never taken it off for the past ten years, for as far as I know."

The hanyou remained silent, but his hand flying to the necklace once again answered Sesshoumaru's question.

"Do not worry brother," Sesshoumaru said, shocking Inuyasha when he put an arm around his brother's shoulder in a brotherly show of affection. "Because contrary to what you seem to believe, everyone is meant for someone. And if you and this girl are truly meant for each other, you _will_ be together again. Trust me," he said, giving Inuyasha a nearly imperceptible smile, before pulling away and heading for the door.

Inuyasha snapped out of it just as his brother's hand reached the door. "Oi Sesshoumaru!" he said, causing the other to pause. "Thanks. I... I hope you're right."

"Have I ever been wrong?" he replied without looking back as he opened the door, leaving Inuyasha alone with his thoughts again.

Inuyasha looked up at the mirror again, watching the Shikon no Tama's reflection as it swayed slightly on its chain. "Maybe there _is_ hope," he whispered. His hand flew once again to the jewel. 'Kagome... maybe someday... we will be together again,' he thought, barely noticing as the door to the bathroom opened once again. Had it not been for his nose, he wouldn't have noticed.

"What are you doing here again, bro?"

Sesshoumaru almost looked sheepish as he replied, "I forgot to do something..."

"Nani?"

"I forgot to do what I came here for," the other replied impatiently, heading for a toilet cubicle and closing the door. "I forgot to pee..."

oooooooooo

Soft steps sounded in the empty plain, as heartbeats thudded harder and louder in the resounding silence. The whole land was in mourning, and the steps faltered as the one who made them paused, listening carefully. Everything in the surroundings screamed its rebellion, even as the winds blew sadly in goodbye.

The sadness in the air was overwhelming...

Yet it was all worth it.

And the footsteps resumed.

oooooooooo

"God dammit, would you stop insisting and sell the god damn dirty stocks! I told you to get rid of them, so get rid of them. And don't even think of questioning me again if you want to keep your fucking job!" he yelled, before slamming the phone back in its cradle with a huff. "Dammit, that guy's stupid."

"Bad day, Shippou?" Inuyasha asked, poking his head out of his office into the cubicle Shippou occupied.

"You bet," the kitsune replied, rubbing furiously between his eyes as he felt a migraine build up. "You must be hella patient deep inside, Yasha. I'm just your assistant, and I'm losing my damn brain to anger here."

"Been there, done that, Shippou," Inuyasha replied.

"We seem to have a lot of incompetent members, Yasha. Want to go on a firing spree?"

"Maybe we should just fire everybody in the staffing department for hiring idiots."

"I dunno. That new kitsune is kinda cute."

"Shippou, you think anybody in a skirt is cute. 'Sides, don't you have a girlfriend? I still can't believe that you used to be the innocent kind of kid," Inuyasha taunted with a smirk. "What we need are new employees. _Then_ we can go on a firing spree."

"But haven't you already posted an ad on the newspaper?"

"I did. Just waiting for the answer," he replied, pausing when his phone began ringing. "Just a sec, Shippou. Taisho and Sons, hello?"

"Sir, We just received a call, asking for an appointment with you. She won't tell us why though. Even seems hesitant to say her name."

"Then why are you entertaining the damn call in the first place?"

"Well sir, the woman on the line said that you were very close friends from way back..."

"Might be a psycho. Deny it," Inuyasha shrugged.

"But sir... she sounded pretty desperate."

"Deny it, Tsuyu. I'm really busy. Tell her if she wants an appointment she could at least tell me her name."

"She just said to tell you that her name is Aza, sir."

Inuyasha paused in shock. "Did you just say..."

"She's on the other line sir, want to talk to her...?"

His heart was beating out of control as the implications of the name resounded in his mind. 'Aza...?'

"Yes, put her on."

"In a second, sir... oh, drat. Hello?"

"What? What happened?"

"Sir, she hung up."

"What! Call her back!"

"I'm sorry sir, she was using a protected number..."

"Then trace it!" He didn't wait for the secretary to answer as he quickly ran out of the room, with no plan except to dash out the building and hope the caller was somewhere nearby.

'Aza... Azalea? Could it be?' his heart screamed, even as the logical part of his mind screamed out just as loudly that he was getting his hopes up for no reason. 'I don't give a flying fuck if it's a delusion! What if... what if it's not?'

Trampling over employees and customers in the lobby, Inuyasha dashed out the office as if hell's hounds were at his heals, almost forgetting that he was dressed as a human and shouldn't even be able to run as fast. The moment the harsh sunlight hit his eyes, he squinted, even as his eyes searched like a hawk, for any place a caller could have placed a call.

But there was none. The scents in the air were the same that he smelled everyday, nothing hinting at the fresh jasmine and plum that he craved everyday of his life.

The strain from his frantic run finally caught up with him, and uncaring for what everybody would have thought, he sank down on the gutter, legs splayed out and arms supporting his chin. He heaved a sad sigh, looking to the skies in wistful prayer.

'I hoped... that I could see Kagome once again. But now... it's been so long. I still love her, but it's been too long,' he sighed, closing his eyes in resignation. 'I just wish to see her again... hear her, just once...'

"Inuyasha?"

The soft, familiar female voice woke him from his musings, and he turned his head so quickly, he would have gotten a whiplash had he been human.

"You..." he whispered getting up with his eyes trained on the woman before him. He staggered up, refusing to believe his senses. His hands slowly reached out to touch her cheek, as her mouth opened slightly in surprise. Long dark hair framed her familiar face, a soft smile grazing her lips as her brown eyes sparkled back at him.

'Wait... _brown_ eyes?'

He pulled his hand back suddenly, confusion clouding his mind. "You're not..."

A pout pulled at the girl's lips. "And here I thought you were glad to see me again, Inuyasha."

"K-Kikyo?" Inuyasha stuttered. 'I'm hallucinating. I actually thought she was Kagome!'

"Hai! It's been a while! How've you been?" she asked with a smile, oblivious to his deflating hopes and raging disappointment.

'Why do I get the feeling that so much is happening today?' he thought as he answered, "Yeah, I've been ok. You?"

"Oh fine. Say, I'll be in town for a few days. Wanna do anything?" Kikyo asked, slight hope shining in her eyes.

Inuyasha sighed. 'Here we go again. But still... maybe...'

"Sure. You free tonight?"

oooooooooo

"Dammit Ship, how would I know! You're his assistant. I haven't even seen you guys for the past two months!"

"Yeah, I know," Shippou sighed into the phone. "But he's been going ballistic again, Takeshi. I mean, just today, he dashed out like a motorcade, came back saying he had a date with Kikyo..."

"Kikyo? As in high school, Kikyo?"

"Obsessed-with-Inuyasha-Kikyo, yeah. Then, he went off to sulk in his office with the doors closed. And he smelled unbelievably depressed. Tak, I'm worried. This is just as weird as ten years ago..."

"Weird alright. How do you smell depressed? Didn't know that was a new fragrance, dude."

Shippou bit his lip. "Yeah, uh... that was a joke. Anyway, he was depressed. Like he was that day. You sure you don't know?"

"No. But speaking of girls, I did meet this super hot chic the other day..." Shippou could practically see him raise his eyebrows. "Her name's..."

"SHIPPOU!" The shout drowned out some of Takeshi's words as Shippou flinched.

"about my friends, and she's got these eyes, and a major ass, but I was so disappointed when..."

"Gotta go, Tak. Yasha wants me. Wonder what I did this time..."

"But you haven't even heard the whole story, yet!" Takeshi protested as Shippou put his phone down.

oooooooooo

"What do you mean, you wanna cancel it? Dude, you're supposed to be leaving in like, five minutes!" Shippou cried.

"I know, but, you know I don't like Kikyo..."

"Yasha, get _over_ yourself! What's wrong with you? I know I never pressed, unlike Tak, but you have _never_ dated. Ever. This is the first, and you're backing out! Now I know you're not gay..."

"Shippou..." Inuyasha growled.

"But this isn't even normal anymore!" Shippou kept talking. "Tak's already involved, kinda, I have a girlfriend, and you, the most successful of us all, are a total spinster!"

"You have no idea what you're saying, Shippou. I can't fall in love."

"Why not! Inuyasha, you are going, coz if you don't get involved and make a family, your entire damn life will be useless!"

"But, Shippou, I can't date because I'm _still_ not _over_ her!" Inuyasha shouted, his eyes widening when he realized what he just said. "Shippou, I'm... I mean... nothing..."

"I knew it. That's what it was about, wasn't it? Ten years ago... your mate left, didn't she?"

"What?"

"In case you don't remember, Yasha, I am youkai. You can't keep that from me. But I dismissed it, thinking I was imagining things."

"It wasn't like that, Shippou. She didn't leave. We just had no _choice_."

"I know it must have been painful, Inuyasha, but you do have to move on. And if she loves you as much as you love her, I'm sure she'll understand," Shippou said. "You have to live on..."

Inuyasha thought for a moment. He had been striving hard for the past few years, with no other aim than just to be someone in the world. No plans for marriage, for a family to take care of. Maybe in a way, Shippou was right.

"Alright. I'm going. But you have to promise not to bug me about it again if I tell you that it's really not going to work."

oooooooooo

Kikyo smiled brightly at him from their reserved table as he entered the restaurant they had agreed to meet in. It was a quaint old place that he usually went to when there were business meetings, with low wooden tables, a small dance floor, and fluttery cloths and curtains. She stood up with a hand outstretched, letting him see her navy blue cocktail dress as she offered him a friendly, almost businesslike handshake.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he shook her hand, then took a seat in the chair opposite hers. Inuyasha checked his appearance off the glass table, noting his dark hair and eyes. He flicked some imaginary dust from the silk garnet polo he was wearing, then proceeded to dust the same imaginary dirt from his black slacks. 'All my clothes look like this, maybe I should invest in a new wardrobe?'

"No, it's ok. I was early. So," she started, taking a seat across from him. "What do you want to get?"

"I dunno. Nothing with fish?"

"Ok. I wanted to get a ziti with white sauce."

"Carbonara?"

"Your call. Waiter!" Kikyo called, hailing a waiter. "I want a ziti with white sauce..."

Inuyasha just looked at her as she spoke to the waiter, mentally drowning out her voice. If one didn't look too closely, she really _did_ look a lot like Kagome...

His eyes snapped up suddenly, his senses going haywire for what seemed like no apparent reason. He didn't sense any threats around, and his hanyou senses were picking up nothing out of the ordinary, but his body had gone on alert, seemingly without his own consent.

'What's going on?' he asked himself, all the strange events of the day suddenly meeting up in his mind. The talk he had with Sessoumaru, the mysterious caller called Aza, Shippou confessing that he knew he was mated just as Sesshoumaru did... and now, the uncanny feeling that he was being watched.

"Inuyasha, is something wrong?" Kikyo was asking, but his attention was focused entirely on his surroundings. The soft, polite chatter of people around him seemed magnified to his ears, the low lights of the restaurant nearly blinding as he cautiously looked around.

Then, just as suddenly as the feeling came, it was gone. He turned back to Kikyo, who was looking worriedly at him as his slightly dazed eyes focused back on her.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" he asked, still pondering the strange happening.

Kikyo was concerned. "You zoned out, then you kept looking around and all. Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I guess the day is taking its toll on me."

"Hard day, huh?"

'You have no idea,' he bit his lip against the reply, simply nodding his agreement. "So Kikyo, what have you been up to all these years?"

oooooooooo

"You didn't!"

"Yeah, I did," Inuyasha grinned at the look of disbelief on Kikyo's face. He had suspected right, the only thing similar about Kikyo and Kagome were their looks. And they weren't even _that_ similar. Kikyo's features were sharper than Kagome's had been, her lips thinner and sterner, her eyes less appealing to him than Kagome's had always been.

She also had a drier humor than he had originally pegged her to have.

But maybe that was just him.

He heaved a very small sigh, pushing his ages-ago-done plate away from him. He already knew that a relationship between himself and Kikyo was never going to work, but the part of him that was desperate for love and care was still pushing.

"In all my years as an interior decorator, I have never seen anyone paint their room scarlet. Doesn't that hurt your eyes?" she asked skeptically, taking a dainty bite out of her food.

'Kagome usually eats pretty quickly,' the thought pushed itself into his mind, and he shook his head to clear the thought even as a more visual memory of Kagome eating some of their shared vegetable stew popped into his mind.

"Keh, I use a black and red color scheme. You should see my bed. It's ebony, to go with the red walls."

"Maybe I should," Kikyo replied in a significantly softer and huskier voice.

He was about to come up with another weird thing about his room décor when what Kikyo said, along with its hidden innuendos and connotations, finally registered in his mind. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as Kikyo met his shocked gaze head on, a wicked smile playing on her ruby painted lips.

"Come on, Yasha, I wanna dance," Kikyo purred as she suddenly stood, dragging him with her as the chords of a slow song reached his ears. She pulled him close to herself once they reached the dance floor, and she buried her face against his chest as she began to slowly sway.

"Did you know," she whispered, "That I have always been attracted to you, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha could only swallow. 'Technically I do, but you have never actually come on to me like this so forgive me if I'm too shocked to reply.'

oooooooooo

He and Kikyo parted ways a couple of hours prior, and she had seemed extremely disappointed when, despite her insinuations, he had failed to invite her to his place. Now, he was alone in his pad again, stripped of his concealment charm, sprawled on the couch as he gloomily considered all that had happened.

'I feel like such a traitor to you, Kagome,' he thought. 'This is our tenth anniversary, and where was I? Traipsing around town with an old classmate who happens to really like me.'

All throughout the date, he felt as if some forces were beckoning him to remember that this was supposed to be a special day, berating him for going on that dinner.

At one point during their short dance, he had caught a whiff of jasmine scent... which caused his head to reel with excitement. But as he looked around, he realized that it was really just a scent – something that had always been the smell of the resto, and the reason he had always picked that particular joint. But for some reason, the scent seemed so much stronger that day... bringing with it a soft scent of plum.

He had looked around even more frantically at that particular realization, but had come out with nothing. He really was just imagining things.

And now, at home, he could swear that he could still smell the scents.

He fisted a hand around the Shikon no Tama, as a tear slowly rolled down his cheek. In his pain, he could almost feel her presence, hear her whispering in his ear, 'It will be alright, Inuyasha. It will be alright.'

"But it won't be, Kagome!" he hissed to the room. "It won't be... not without you."

It took him a few minutes to compose himself enough to stand up, reach for a bottle of wine, and pour it into a wine flute. He raised the glass, while a phantom image of his love raised her own glass to a toast before him.

"Happy anniversary, Kagome."

oooooooooo

Inuyasha cursed as he stubbed his toe on his office desk the next day. Dark hari fell across his face and he angrily pushed it out of the way, his violet eyes glaring at the offending locks. It seemed as if an odd sort of jinx was following him that day.

That morning, he had fallen off his bed, consequently waking him a full hour before he was supposed to. Then, while getting into his car, he caught sight of a girl whose back was turned to him, with long dark hair and was wearing a sleeveless knee-length red dress. And as what always happens in those situations, he stared for too long, until he realized that he had actually gotten his finger in between two tight spots in his car door, and had to cuss, pull and shout before he got it free.

But still, that girl had been quite worth it. She had looked so much like Kagome from behind. Even the way she ran was the same.

Too bad he didn't get to catch her scent, though. She had been in quite a hurry, it seemed.

Then, as he entered the office, flicking a leaf from his usual garnet polo shirt, he came upon Takeshi and Shippou. He would have been glad to see his friend after such a long time, but then he realized they were gossiping about him.

Flashback ---

"We were just talking about you, Yasha!" Takeshi exclaimed as he strode over.

"Yeah, I heard. Why?"

"Well, Shippou here called yesterday, so I decided to drop by, and continue the story I was telling him yesterday."

"Yeah? What about?"

"This chic he met," Shippou replied wryly. "His stories are always about women."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I thought you finally had a girlfriend."

"No, I have a _prospective_ girlfiriend, and she's hot, but this girl I met was sizzlin', dude!" Takeshi replied with his usual enthusiasm when it came to the opposite sex.

'Kami, he's so much like Miroku,' he thought. "Yeah, so what about this 'sizzlin' girl?"

"Dark hair, blue eyes. And the roundest ass in Tokyo," Takeshi started. "I was just about starting to drool, thinking she was interested in me, then I let slip that I knew you, Yasha. And the excitement ended when she began asking about you. Again, you damn mother fucker."

"Really now?" Inuyasha asked, a grin pulling at the edges of his lips.

End Flashback ---

And right as he sat on his chair, the phone rang. "WHAT!" he yelled, picking up the phone.

"Um, good morning sir, this is Tsuyu... we have an applicant for that ad you placed. She said she is up for an interview."

"That's impossible, I haven't signed any forms yet," Inuyasha replied, scratching his head in confusion.

"But sir, this one has your signature. It's even stamped 'priority'."

"Really?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief. "I don't remember signing..." he said distractedly as he rummaged through his files and folders for the receiving copy that should have been there. "There's nothing here, Tsuyu. Could you check that again?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, and his superior hearing helped him hear her begin talking to the applicant.

But when the applicant spoke, he paled.

'It's her voice,' he thought to himself. He would know that voice anywhere. But then again...

Didn't a lot of people have very similar voices? He was getting his hopes up again.

"Hello, sir?" Tsuyu spoke into the phone. "The stamp and signature are both authentic sir. You really did sign those papers."

"Alright, what's her name? Maybe I _would_ remember." Inuyasha asked, playing with the spiraling cords of his phone.

"Her name is Kagore Azame, sir."

The receiver nearly fell from his hand. "I beg your pardon?"

"Kagore Azame, sir. Should I send her to the interview room?"

'My mind is playing tricks on me, I just know it...' he thought, his hand tightening convulsively on the receiver. 'Kago-re. It was Kago_RE_.'

"Yes, you do that. Tell her I'm on my way."

oooooooooo

It really was not Inuyasha's day. Upon standing to head for the interview room, he realized that his interview kit was missing, and he had to nearly topple all his things to find it. Shippou, startled by the commotion, went and poked his head through the door, only to find his boss tearing down the room. He quickly went back to work.

Add that to the fact that he nearly fell down the stairs when the overwhelming scent of jasmines once again made its way to his nose. He sprinted off, following the faint scent, which led him to Tsuyu's office.

"Tsuyu," he rasped, slightly out of breath, eyes wild and searching. "Was there anyone here besides you?"

"Um... no sir, Just that girl for interview."

His heart stopped. "Really. Say, are you using a new perfume?" he asked, knowing he can't really go and ask a human if the scent was hers.

"Oh, yes sir! Do you like it? It's that new fragrance from Mango, called Jasmine Plum," the girl beamed.

Inuyasha deflated. 'It was just Tsuyu,' he thought wryly. "I like it. See ya."

But much to his surprise, the scent got stronger as he walked from the room, instead of fainter. Giving up on feeling puzzled, he decided to follow the scent, taking very discrete sniffs to avoid suspicion.

The scent led him to a closed door, and by the time he looked up, his heart was already hammering with anticipation. For as the scent grew stronger, the scent grew clearer.

It was undoubtedly Kagome's scent.

He knew he was getting his hopes up again. After all, it was impossible for her to be in his world, since she was in Crystallia, still presiding over the land. And Tsuyu's perfume did bear a striking resemblance to that alluring fragrance that he so craved.

Perhaps, it was all in his mind? Maybe, in his desperation for her, his mind took a scent that was close and somehow made it smell as if it truly were Kagome.

"But why now?" he muttered to himself, looking up and finding to his surprise that the scent had led him directly to the interview room – where Kago_re_ was waiting. "Why now, why after ten years? It's never been like this before..."

But maybe it was just ten years too long?

Composing himself, he knocked softly on the door, before straightening and turning the handle.

He kept his eyes down, refusing to look up even when the strong scent that so much smelled like Kagome assaulted his senses the moment the door was opened. He stood by the door, his eyes only going up as high as to see that the girl before him was wearing a knee-length red dress, her hair just touching the backs of knees.

Gathering his composure, he began. "I'm Inuyasha Taisho, vice president of Taisho and Sons. I heard you are here for an interview," he said, refusing to look up as the scent threatened to make his eyes tear up.

When only the scent of salty tears greeted his statement, he finally looked up.

The files he had wrecked his office for fell from his suddenly shaking hands, scattering on the floor, as time seemed to stop the moment his wide eyes took in the woman before him. His entire body was trembling in disbelief, the shock making him drop his concealment, nearly making his heart stop beating even as it quickly started to beat more furiously than it ever had before.

Tearful blue gray eyes gazed happily at him from beneath midnight bangs, large tears slowly dripping down the woman's cheeks as her lips struggled to form words.

"I-Inuyasha?"

The moment the words were uttered, he blindly made his way to her as fast as his legs would carry him, tears blurring his view as he finally let them fall. The instant his reaching fingers touched her form he was lost, as sparks flew about them, and all else stilled as he once again took her in his arms... after so long.

He stood speechless as his arms crushed her to himself, and she did everything she could to press even tighter against him. Great, wracking sobs shook her form as she pressed her face to his chest and all words were lost as he dropped his own head and let the tears fall from his golden eyes onto her hair. He sucked in huge gulps of her scent, squeezed her tightly against himself, wanting but almost unable to believe...

"Kagome..." he whispered, joy flooding his heart when she just nodded speechlessly against his chest.

It was really her!

He pulled back from their crushing embrace, only to dip his head and take her lips with his before both even knew what happened.

Their desperate lips almost greedily accepted what the other had to give, urgent, needy, disbelievingly searching for more proof that the other was really there. His tongue mindlessly sought her own, plundering the depths of her mouth, and she willingly gave in to his conquest.

His hands went to cup her cheeks, and hers wrapped around his neck, as one of her legs unconsciously hooked around one of his own. One of his hands slowly dropped down to her waist, caressing her sides, making her gasp his name as he kept on kissing her.

Hands tangled in the other's hair as the kiss melted into one long passionate exchange, wanting to disregard the need to breathe as they both started to pant for breath. Yet, one can never really ignore the need for air, so they regretfully pulled apart, and Inuyasha dropped another soft kiss on her swollen lips before pulling her back into the safety of his arms.

He didn't want to ever let go...

"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered, and an electric sort of thrill raced up his spine as he listened to the sound of her voice. "I missed you so much."

"I..." he swallowed against a sob threatening to come out. "I missed you too," he replied, steering them slowly until they reached one of the large armchairs in the room. He sat down, taking her with him onto his lap, then pulled away slightly so he could look at her face, into her eyes.

His heart melted at the sight of her. She had changed somewhat – she looked so much more mature after all those years, her eyes slightly narrower from the old wide-eyed innocent look she had always carried with her on their travels. But she was still his old sweet, beautiful Kagome. And she was with him.

Genuinely happy laughter escaped his lips as he looked at her, crushing her in his arms once more, before pulling back to look at her again. She was smiling brightly at him, the joy in her eyes almost tangible and blinding.

"I can't believe you're here!" he exclaimed, happy tears threatening to choke him again. "But, how...? I thought..."

Kagome put a finger on his lips, silencing him, teary eyes gazing at him through thick dark lashes. "Do you remember Michi and Shiro?"

Inuyasha was confused. 'What the hell kinda question is that at a time like this?' he thought as he nodded.

"Well, the gods heeded your prayers, my prayers, and theirs!"

"Huh?"

"You wished that there was some way we could be together in your world, remember? I wished to be with you again. And Shiro and Michi wished to be guards with their then unborn sister in the palace."

He was still too happy to make the logical connections. "Yeah?"

"That was ten years ago, so when Shiro and Michi's sister was born..."

Inuyasha finally made the connection. "She had the golden star..." he whispered in astonishment, his eyes wide and trained on Kagome only.

"Yes! So, now, ten years later, she was crowned the next princess. I'm just plainfolk now!" she said happily, placing an overjoyed kiss on his lips.

"Kagome..."

"And the scriptures, I read the entire book of Prophecies, and I learned that the princesses' dying after their term is a prerogative, and all have chosen to die because they are old and have served for too long... but I'm young, and I wanted to live... for you!"

"But... how did you find me? I left the old village after graduation."

"Takeshi."

"EH?"

"Your friend, Takeshi. I recognized him from the memory visions you had before you left Crystallia. So I befriended him and asked about you."

"So," Inuyasha started. "You're the 'hot chic' he was talking about?"

"Yes. I had to know if you were still single, you know."

"But didn't I tell you..." Inuyasha said, leaning in close. "There could never be anyone else, Kago-ko."

"I dunno, you and Kikyo looked pretty cozy," she teased.

"You were there! So that's why I kept smelling you last night!"

"Yep. I was also the one who called here yesterday, and I was also at your house this morning."

"I kinda realize that now," he remarked. "But why didn't you just knock at my door earlier?"

"Less excitement. Plus, I got kinda nervous."

"So you forged my signature and posed as an applicant?"

Kagome shrugged. "I didn't think you'd mind."

"And I don't," Inuyasha replied, nuzzling her. "How'd you get my signature, though?"

"Nothing Miroku and his charms can't handle. That Tsuyu was very willing to give him a sample deal sheet. If she only knew he was married..."

"Miroku? He's here too?"

"Of course! Palace mystics are always born alongside the new princess. And Miroku's been married to Sango for the past six years, by the way. She's here too."

"Wow... You sure Kouga isn't here?"

"Nope... he wouldn't want to leave his new mate Ayame when their third kid is on the way, now, would he?"

Inuyasha beamed. 'Seems the whole gang is here.'

"So, wanna go see them now, koi?" Kagome asked.

"No way, Kago-ko."

"Why not?"

"As the vice-president of Taisho and Sons, I have a corporate suite. I have a bedroom behind my office for short naps..."

Kagome blushed prettily at his insinuation, and he couldn't help but kiss her lips and the tip of her nose.

"So, you're suggesting..."

"That you come with me and work off ten years worth of our shared frustrations, what do you say?"

The two lovers disentangled themselves from each others' embrace, and Inuyash quickly donned his concealment charm before they both happily dashed off to his office. Inuyasha stopped outside his office just long enough to introduce her to Shippou and Sesshoumaru, who had come out of their respective offices to investigate after catching the scent of an unusually happy Inuyasha and an excited female who smelled rather – whoa – _mated_ to Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru just raised an eyebrow, a slight grin tugging at his lips before turning back to his office. Shippou grinned, happy to see his friend happy in a way he hadn't been for the past ten years.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha collapsed onto the bed, sweat beading on his brow, before he pulled an out of breath Kagome to lay on his chest. Her fingers leisurely traced the lines on his bare chest as his own lovingly stroked the graceful curves of her back.

"I love you," she whispered against his skin, her voice hoarse from repeatedly screaming the same thing for the past Kami-knows-how-long.

"I love you too," he replied, voice just as husky. He looked down at the enchanting woman on sprawled on him, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Marry me?"

Kagome's head snapped up. "What?"

"Marry me. And don't even say it's sudden. I think ten years is a long enough wait."

Kagome grinned happily at him, rising up with her hands braced on his chest to kiss him on the lips. "Sure."

Inuyasha smiled back, before pulling her head down to give her a long kiss that left her head spinning. "I'll get the ring tomorrow."

"You had better," Kagome laughed, leaning down to rest her head on his chest again.

"So... now you're here with me for keeps?" Inuyasha asked, his hands wrapping around her waist and playing with her long black locks.

"For as long as you want me to be with you," Kagome replied, placing a soft kiss on his chest.

"You'd better brace yourself, coz that would be a long time, Kagome."

"I don't care... is forever long enough?" she asked with a smile, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Forever, eternity, and long after the day I die, I'd still want to have you."

"That's all I ever wanted, Inuyasha," Kagome replied, looking directly into his eyes. She had never been so happy in her entire life. Her body and mind were humming in contentment, deliriously happy to know that she truly was, finally, with Inuyasha, and nothing could ever keep them apart. "The princess and her knight shall live happily ever after. Fairy tales do come true after all, ne Inu-chan?"

Inuyasha could not tear his eyes away from here if he tried. Looking at his own personal fairy, who could help but believe?

"They sure do, Kagome. They sure do."

oooooooooo

THE END

oooooooooo

A/N: Whew! I can't believe it... my first ever fic is FINISHED!

I'd like to say **thank you **to all you wonderful people who have supported me and read this fic. I know that I haven't always been the most reliable author when it comes to updating, but your words of encouragement have helped me get through trials, writers blocks and even heartache while writing this story.

An **epilogue **is still coming, so for those who still have some questions, ask me now so I could include the answers in the epilogue. For aff dot net readers, just inform me if you guys still want that lemon.

Again, thanks to all of you. God bless you all!

ScarletRaven1001


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